Family calls for charges after teen killed in officer-involved shooting in Wauwatosa

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MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- On Sunday, a march was held to honor a 17-year-old killed in an officer-involved shooting near Mayfair Mall.

The family of Alvin Cole hosted the protest.

They walked about three miles, or so, to the Cheesecake Factory in Wauwatosa.

Cole was shot by an officer during a foot chase in the parking lot Feb. 2 and later died at the hospital.

Officers responded after a reported disturbance at the mall, and someone with a gun.

With information from their lawyer, the family called for Officer Joseph Mensah to be charged and convicted in Cole’s death, and in two other separate cases.

On Sunday, CBS 58 asked the department about Officer Mensah, and the Cole family’s demands.

In a statement, Chief Barry Weber wrote that the department "values human life and safety" and “in each of the cases involving Officer Mensah, those who Officer Mensah encountered were armed with weapons. He defended himself with deadly force.”

“I cannot sleep. I cannot function. I cannot think because you took my baby from me," Tracy Cole, Alvin's mother, said. “The only memories I have of my son are looking at pictures or videos. That’s not going to bring my baby back.”

“I’m heartbroken; everything I did was for him," said Cole's sister Taleavia Cole. "And at this point, I honestly can say that I don’t know what I’m going to do in my life, but I just know I’m going to do it all for him.”

Mensah has not been charged in the Cole shooting.

According to the chief, Mensah is currently on administrative leave while waiting for the decision from the District Attorney’s office.

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