Senator Rob Hutton | Official U.S. Senate headshot
Senator Rob Hutton | Official U.S. Senate headshot
In 2020, Officer Joseph Mensah of the Wauwatosa Police Department was involved in a shooting incident that resulted in the death of Alvin Cole. Cole, who was armed, reached for a gun during a foot chase outside Mayfair Mall. This incident led to an extended legal battle.
The Milwaukee Police Department investigated the shooting, and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm decided not to press charges, citing self-defense as justification for Mensah's actions. Additional investigations by the Wauwatosa Police Department, the United States Attorney’s Office, and former US Attorney Steve Biskupic also cleared Mensah.
Despite these findings, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Glenn Yamahiro reopened the case without new evidence or rationale under an old law known as the “John Doe Law.” This law allows secretive investigations into citizens without cross-examination rights. As a result, Mensah faced another year of legal challenges before being cleared again.
A similar situation occurred with Madison Police Officer Matt Kenny after Dane County DA Ismael Ozanne ruled his fatal shooting of Tony Robinson as self-defense.
Judge Yamahiro's ability to reopen cases without new evidence has raised concerns about its impact on law enforcement officers' morale and financial stability. Officers face anxiety over potential legal battles following high-stakes encounters requiring self-defense.
Senate Bill 25 was authored to address this issue. The bill mandates that judges can only reopen cases where no charges were initially filed if new evidence disputes previous findings of justified self-defense. It aims to limit endless investigations while maintaining thorough checks on police use-of-force incidents.
SB 25 recently passed in the Senate with bipartisan support. Although Governor Evers vetoed a similar bill previously, there is hope that this revised version will gain approval due to its bipartisan backing.
Rob Hutton represents Wisconsin’s 5th Senate District and can be contacted at Sen.Hutton@legis.wisconsin.gov.
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