Wauwatosa police say the teenage boy who was fatally shot by police fired first in Sunday's shooting at Mayfair Mall.
On Friday, police released a squad car video from the shooting. Wauwatosa police officers don't wear body cameras.
The video shows police chasing 17-year-old Alvin Cole and the sound of gun shots. After Cole fired, one officer fired back five times, according to Wauwatosa Police Operations Capt. Brian Zalewski. The name of the officer has not been released.
Zalewski says Cole’s weapon was stolen. Police also found a full magazine clip in Cole’s bag.
The incident happened the night of Feb. 2, when a fight broke out among a group of people in front of the Sephora store. Security guards then escorted them from the mall, police say. Those officers called the police after a witness reported that one of the youths had a handgun. When police officers arrived, four people ran away.
"One of them matched the description given of the suspect in possession of the gun," Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber said. "Officers called out in foot pursuit and gave chase through the parking lot."
The Cole family has called for a transparent investigation into the killing.
“I can't sleep. I can't eat. I can't function,” the boy's mother, Tracy Cole, told more than 100 friends and family members at a vigil Monday night in the parking lot where her son was killed.
Speaking on behalf of the Cole family, Rick Farmer of the Original Black Panthers of Milwaukee told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that they need answers.
"The investigation needs to be transparent, concise, and it needs to be clear, because there's so many different stories and the reality is that a 17-year-old teenager, black male, lost his life," he said.
Editor's note: This post was originally published Feb. 3, 2020.
