'Dark and stressful situation': Joseph Mensah testifies on day 2 of civil trial
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — A former Wauwatosa police officer sat in Milwaukee's federal court Tuesday, for day two of a civil trial.
The family of 17-year-old Alvin Cole wants to prove Joseph Mensah used excessive force when he shot and killed Cole in the Mayfair Mall parking lot in 2020.
The Milwaukee County district attorney said it was self-defense, and a civil case filed by Cole's family ended in a mistrial last March, with a hung jury.
The second trial began Monday, and it has been heated for attorneys, with several objections, back-and-forth for hearsay, and reference of prior testimony.
On the stand Tuesday, the Milwaukee County medical examiner showed photos of Cole's gunshot wounds and explained the autopsy report.
The jury also heard from Joseph Mensah himself.
Investigators say Mensah responded with other Wauwatosa officers to Mayfair Mall on the night of Feb. 2, 2020, for a report of a person with a gun.
Cole was being chased by officers in the parking lot when his family's attorneys claim he accidentally shot himself in the left arm and fell to the ground.
Mensah then shot him five times.
Mensah testified on Tuesday that he pulled his gun when he heard the first shot.
He said Cole was in a kneeling position with his left hand on the ground, when he moved to point the barrel of his gun at Mensah.
Mensah said that's when he fired, as he feared for his life and the safety of others in the area.
He called it a "dark and stressful situation."
Two other then-Wauwatosa police officers, David Shamsi and Jeffrey Johnson, testified Monday that they did not see Cole move or point his gun at Mensah.
Mensah said he "couldn't stop crying" after firing the shots and went into his squad car with fellow officer Evan Olson to "calm down."
An investigator who conducted interviews after the shooting testified that after critical incidents like that, involved officers should be isolated until they give a report.
More witnesses will be called Wednesday morning, and the jury is expected to begin deliberations late Wednesday or early Thursday.