Jay-Z and Team ROC posted bond for a group of protesters arrested in Wisconsin stemming from the decision not to charge the officer who shot and killed 17-year-old Alvin Cole. Among those protesters was his mother, Tracy.
Thursday night in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, police arrested 24 people for violating the city’s 7 PM curfew. The group alleged that Tracy Cole and another were injured due to the officers’ use of “excessive force” during the apprehension, both requested medical attention. Officers will seek additional charges but will have to review the video of the incident and other evidence, CBS News reported.
The social justice branch of Jay-Z’s ROC Nation stepped up to the plate by paying an undisclosed amount of court fees for Cole, her daughters Taleavia, Tristiana, and Tahudah, and several other protesters who were arrested that evening, a spokesperson for the organization told CBS News.
“Our hearts break for the family of Alvin Cole and the Wauwatosa community. Not only did the District Attorney’s Office fail to hold Officer Joseph Mensah accountable for killing Alvin, but the local police also arrested and injured Alvin’s mother, Tracy, and his sisters as they peacefully protested alongside Jacob Blake’s father,” Dania Diaz, the executive director for Team Roc.
Protest in Wauwatosa sparked after Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm’s decided not to charge officer Joseph Mensah for fatally shooting the teen on February 2. The D.A. reported that there was “sufficient evidence” that the officer had “subjective belief that deadly force was necessary and that belief was objectively reasonable.”
Mensah responded to the scene and began the pursuit of two subjects. He fired several shots at Cole, who was in possession of a stolen 9mm handgun. It has been alleged that Cole aimed the gun at Mensah.
