Protests and riots in Milwaukee last night after a police officer killed a 23-year-old man.
The victim was killed during a traffic stop by a 24-year-old member of the Milwaukee Police Department. Police claim that the victim and another man ran from the car after being pulled over by the police. CNN reports that the man was armed and threatened officers with his gun before they shot him. The other man was taken into custody.
Protestors gathered in response to the shooting, and additional police officers – including some in riot gear— were called to the scene. From WISN:
As of midnight, fires were reported at a BP gas station, a Jet Beauty Supply store, an O'Reilly Auto Parts store and a BMO Harris Bank location. Several blocks away, a neighborhood supermarket was on fire at about 1 a.m. A liquor store at 22nd Street and Fond Du Lac Avenue was burning shortly after 2 a.m.
At least three people were arrested, Mayor Tom Barrett said. He warned parents to ask their children to come home if they are out on the streets protesting.
"If you love your son, if you love your daughter, text them, call them, pull them by ear and get them home," Barrett said
A total of six fires were reported, and one officer was hit with a brick.
Milwaukee has repeatedly been named the worst city for black people, which make up 40% of the city's population. They have the largest achievement gap in the nation between black and white students. The city suspends black students at almost double the rate than any other city. Four out of five black kids are living in poverty. The state incarcerates more black men than anywhere else in the country, and NPR reports that "in Milwaukee County, more than half of all black men in their 30s and 40s have served time.”