A mentally disturbed homeless man wielding a knife was shot dead just one mile from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Tuesday.
The man was shot dead by a group of Ohio police officers providing security for the four-day convention, which started Monday. The man was threatening another man with a pair of steak knives.
Police released bodycam video of the incident, which happened about a mile from the convention in the King Park area.
A group of officers were having a conversation when they noticed the suspect having an altercation with another man in the street. "He's got a knife," one of the cops said.
The Columbus, Ohio officers ran towards the man, shouting "drop your knife!" The armed man ignored them and charged at the other man, who was unarmed. The police fired their guns, killing the suspect.
“Someone’s life was in danger,” Milwaukee Chief Jeffrey Norman said. “These officers, who were not from this area, took it upon themselves to act and save someone’s life today.”
The incident came just days after a gunman tried to assassinate President Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania. Trump was formally nominated the GOP's candidate for president on Monday.
The RNC's theme on Tuesday was crime and public safety. The roster of speakers included crime victims, who shared personal stories about their lives being torn apart by liberal soft-on-crime policies.
The 43-year-old suspect who was killed Tuesday lived in a well-known homeless encampment in the King Park area.
Local bums living in the tent city said that the encampment is familiar to local police. They said the altercation might have ended differently if local cops were involved.
“If MPD [Milwaukee police] would have been there, that man would still be alive right now,” one of the bums, David Porter, said.
At a press conference Tuesday, local police defended the out-of-town officers. The suspect had a knife in each hand, they said, and ignored commands to cooperate.
“The officers observed a subject armed with a knife in each hand, engaged in an altercation with another unarmed individual,” Norman said. "They only fired after the armed man ignored multiple commands and moved toward the unarmed man, the chief said.
“This is a situation where somebody’s life was in immediate danger,” Norman said.
