Protesters take to the streets after Officer Mensah cleared in fatal shooting of teenager

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MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Protesters who gathered at Milwaukee County's Safety Building were upset to find out Joseph Mensah won't be charged.

After the decision, they took to the streets to make sure their voices were heard.

After the decision was announced Wednesday afternoon, protesters took to the streets of Milwaukee, even getting on the freeway at one point and clashing briefly with deputies.

Protesters are fed up. Wednesday marks the 132nd day they've marched.

They've dedicated a number of those days to getting justice for 17-year-old Alvin Cole, fatally shot by Wauwatosa Officer Joseph Mensah.

"There's some officers that are on the force for 27 years and never murdered somebody -- he's murdered three people," said protester Brook Love. 

John McHugh says he was taken off his bike and detained by police while he was protesting with the crowd, but was shortly released.

Video shows protesters going past a barricade of squad cars headed toward the freeway, deputies then going after them.

"You know people are upset, and so I kind of saw the energy here and then I saw the cops coming in with all the riot gear," McHugh said.

"People need to know this is the most racist city in the United States of America, and the corruption and the systemic racism needs to stop," Love said.

And while 132 days seems long for some, protesters say they won't stop being visible until systemic racism in the city comes to an end.

"Marching for four months now and our cries, our demands are not being heard," said McHugh.

"Systemic racism is blatant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and it needs to stop," Love said.

The Wauwatosa Police Department is barricaded in the event any rioting happens. 

Members of the National Guard also blocked off the entrances to Mayfair Mall Wednesday, which closed early at 4 p.m.


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The National Guard is stationed at Mayfair Mall in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Wauwatosa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Wauwatosa</a>. Entrances are blocked off. The mall is closed.<br><br>Protesters left the Public Safety Building in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Milwaukee?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Milwaukee</a> about an hour ago.<br><br>We are near the Cheesecake Factory parking lot - scene of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AlvinCole?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AlvinCole</a> shooting. <a href="https://twitter.com/CBS58?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CBS58</a> <a href="https://t.co/WOF3JWobME">pic.twitter.com/WOF3JWobME</a></p>&mdash; Kim Shine (@KimShineCBS58) <a href="https://twitter.com/KimShineCBS58/status/1313985280735617029?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The parking lot of the Cheesecake Factory is where Officer Mensah shot Alvin Cole in February. 

Over the months, the lot transformed into the ending site for many marches and protests, some led by the Cole family.

Though DA Chisholm's office did not charge Mensah, Chisholm did not justify the shooting. This is something the Cole family attorney stressed.

They still want his firing and a conviction, and they are planning their next steps.

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