Wauwatosa council approves controversial former officer Joseph Mensah’s $95K worker's compensation settlement
WAUWATOSA, Wis. (CBS 58) – The Wauwatosa Common Council unanimously approved Joseph Mensah's $95,000 worker's compensation settlement related to post-traumatic stress disorder at a meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
Mensah is the former Wauwatosa police officer who shot and killed three people over a five-year stretch, including the shooting death of Alvin Cole in 2020.
He never faced any charges in those cases and resigned from the department in November of 2020. A few months later, he was sworn in as a detective for the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department. He resigned from his position with the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office in July 2025.
Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride told CBS 58’s Kathryn Merck he was not surprised the vote was unanimous, despite the controversy surrounding the officer.
“We had good advice from council. It’s 95,000, which isn’t going to break the bank, and it comes from our worker's compensation fund and not our general fund. So, we have reserves for this very purpose by law,” McBride said.
McBride said under state law, worker's compensation claims cannot be made part of separation agreements, which is why he says this was not something addressed in 2020. McBride also addressed the Cole family’s feelings on the decision.
“We have a worker's compensation claim and that has to be dealt with on its own merits. Whatever happened in 2020 or earlier was actually a different matter. While I understand the feelings of the Cole family, it’s actually a different matter,” McBride said.
In Mensah’s resignation from the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office in 2025, Mensah wrote he would transition out of law enforcement.