Man offers $100,000 for Kenosha to release police bullet that killed his son
KENOSHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- After his lawsuit was unsuccessful, the father of a man killed by police nearly two decades ago is now offering money to charity in exchange for Kenosha releasing the bullet that killed his son.
Michael Bell, Sr. said he will give $100,000 to nonprofits in Southeast Wisconsin if the city turns over the bullet from the 2004 shooting.
Thursday marked 19 years from the day officers followed Michael Bell, Jr. into his family's driveway and conducted a stop for a suspected OWI.
During a struggle at the front of the car, an officer fatally shot Bell, Jr. in the head. Kenosha Police investigated the incident, and about 48 hours later, concluded its officers did nothing wrong.
Michael Bell, Sr. has since pushed for broad police accountability and for an independent review of his son's death. He's been successful in the former; in 2014, Wisconsin became the first U.S. state to require outside investigations of police-involved deaths.
However, Bell said he's still pushing to secure an independent review of his son's case, and he said that cannot happen without access to the bullet.
"I mean, a third of my adult life, from age 44 until now, has been defined by trying to get justice," Bell said. "And change the system for my son."
Bell said he's been able to get pieces of evidence over the years, from his son's cell phone and jacket to a piece of garage door frame that had a dent Bell believes came from the bullet that killed his son.
"They turned all that over," Bell said. "They didn't seem to have a problem turning over that material."
Bell said independent forensics expert Michael Haag found that dented part of garage door frame tested positive for the presence of lead while the rest of the frame didn't. He maintained the next step was allowing Haag to test the bullet itself.
Bell believes forensics will debunk the official Kenosha Police account: that Officer Albert Gonzales, positioned to the left of Bell Jr., fired the shot when Officer Erich Strausbaugh called out that Bell Jr. was tugging at his gun.
Michael Bell, Sr. is challenging the Kenosha Police account that his son, Michael, Jr., was trying to take an officer's gun before Officer Albert Gonzales shot and killed him.
A private investigation initiated by Bell concluded Strausbaugh caught his holster on the driver's side mirror and mistakenly called out in distress. That review found Gonzales was standing between Bell, Jr. and Strausbaugh, who died by suicide in 2010.
Both circuit and appellate courts rejected a lawsuit Bell filed hoping to force Kenosha to release the bullet.
Bell has also failed in his efforts to convince Wisconsin sheriffs to take another look at the case, and Attorney General Josh Kaul has declined to have state investigators get involved, prompting Bell to file a complaint against Kaul with Gov. Tony Evers' office.
Bell's defamation lawsuit against the officer
Thursday's anniversary came one day after a Wisconsin appellate court ruled against Bell in a defamation lawsuit against Gonzales.
Bell maintained Gonzales' book, 'A Fateful Two Minutes,' twisted Bell's words. The book, written about the 2004 shooting from Gonzales' perspective, substitutes 'Bell' for 'Smith' while retelling the story of what happened during the shooting and in the years that followed.
In one portion, Gonzales recounts when Bell placed a sign in his front yard exactly one year after the shooting happened, along with a table ornament Bell, Jr. had made.
“I wanted Officer Gonzales to pay," the book attributed to 'Smith.' " I wanted his family to know the
pain he caused us!”
In a reported deposition, Bell said, "I wanted Officer Gonzales to understand the tremendous pain that he caused
my family."
In his own January 2022 deposition, Gonzales said he took steps to avoid harming Bell.
"I did not use his name," Gonzales told Bell's lawyer. "I did not use where I worked. I didn't even use anybody else's name in there."
The appellate court decision sided with Gonzales, concluding, "the statements identified in the book have not been altered
in such a way that results in a material change to the meaning."
In an email to CBS 58 Thursday, Gonzales said he was pleased with the court's ruling.
"My book, 'A Fateful Two Minutes’ was only ever intended to be my testimony of how the Lord helped my family and I through a very difficult time in my career," Gonzales said. "A time when I saved the lives of my fellow officers by using deadly force against someone trying to disarm an officer."
The court also noted Bell, through his advocacy, is a public figure, and he failed to demonstrate actual malice, which is the legal standard needed to prove defamation in such cases.
Bell said he intends to appeal the decision to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, maintaining Gonzales had to have known any changes to Bell's words would cause harm given circumstances.
"There is some malice there," Bell said. "There is some hurt there, when you turn around and write about killing somebody's son."
Bell seeking applications from charities
Bell said he expects to start taking applications from nonprofits interested in his $100,000 offer within the next 30 days.
"It could be five getting $20,000 a piece, it could be two getting $50,000 a piece," Bell said. "It could be one getting the whole $100,000. I don't know, but none of that's gonna happen until the bullet gets released from the city."
Bell said his goal was to compile a list of charities expressing their desire for a donation and eventually present it to Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian. Bell first announced the offer during the public comment portion of Monday night's common council meeting.