Wauwatosa PFC waiting to take action with two complaints against Officer Joseph Mensah

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WAUWATOSA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Wauwatosa Police and Fire Commission took little action at Monday night's meeting, Aug. 17, in response to the employment of Officer Joseph Mensah.

Officer Mensah was suspended last month after being involved in three deadly shootings in five years while on duty.

The attorney for family members of the three men fatally shot filed complaints to the PFC, asking for Mensah to be fired.

But Monday night, two of those complaints were dismissed without action for the time being.

Officer Joseph Mensah was involved in the killing of Antonio Gonzalez in 2015, Jay Anderson Jr. in 2016 and Alvin Cole earlier this year.

In Monday's meeting, the PFC unanimously approved a schedule to move Jay Anderson's case forward.

"I think it's both fair to the Anderson family and also to Officer Mensah that we do this promptly, and I think the proposed order does that," said Victor Plantinga, secretary of the Wauwatosa Police and Fire Commission. 

The schedule would require Anderson's attorneys to finalize changes to the complaint by Friday, something they had hoped they had until October to do.

"We have not received most of our open records documents to which they gave us a bill for $5,400," said Kimberley Motley, attorney for the families of Anderson, Cole and Gonzalez. 

"As soon as we got our records we would be ready right away, the records they have given us are extremely incomplete," added Attorney Deborah Vishny.

The PFC didn't take action in relation to Antonio Gonzalez or Alvin Cole's case.

They say in the case of Alvin Cole, the shooting is still under investigation by the Milwaukee County District Attorney, John Chisholm.

"I don't think it warrants us taking a discussion or decision at this point until such time as the investigation has been concluded and the DA has released its finding," said Wauwatosa PFC Commissioner Greg Leahy.

"They're just hiding behind John Chisholm, which is absolutely ridiculous," Motley said. "It's two very separate things -- one is criminal, this is civil. This goes to his employment."

Regardless, the movement to gain justice for the three men doesn't show signs of slowing down.

"It's not just about Alvin Cole, Jay Anderson, Antonio Gonzalez, it is about your community," Motley added.

The Wauwatosa PFC president says the commission will not meet again until they find it necessary to take some action.


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