National Guard on alert after night of rioting following police shooting

Associated Press

MILWAUKEE

Wisconsin’s governor put the National Guard on alert Sunday in case of another outbreak of violence in Milwaukee, after a deadly police shooting touched off a night of arson and rock-throwing in a mostly black neighborhood.

At least four businesses were burned and one police officer was hurt by a thrown brick in the unrest that erupted on the city’s north side Saturday night a few hours after the killing of a man authorities say was armed and fleeing a traffic stop.

The races of the man and the officer who shot him weren’t immediately disclosed, but a Milwaukee alderman called the resulting melee a warning from black residents “tired of living under this oppression.”

Gov. Scott Walker activated the National Guard, saying it would be position to help upon request. He called for “continued peace and prayer.”

A Guard spokesman, Lt. Col. Gary Thompson, said 125 soldiers were being notified to gather at their local armories and await instructions.

On Sunday morning, about three dozen volunteers swept up glass and filled trash bags with rocks, bricks and bottles at the intersection where a gas station burned to the ground and bus shelters were knocked over. One volunteer picked up a bullet casing and handed it to police.

Darlene Rose, 31, said that she understands the anger that fueled the violence, but that it doesn’t help.

“I feel like if you’re going to make a difference, it’s got to be an organized difference,” Rose said. “The people that came and looted, you’re not going to see them here today.”

Three protesters were arrested in the violence.

The anger at Milwaukee police is not new and comes as tension between black communities and law enforcement has ramped up across the nation, resulting in protests and the recent ambush killings of eight officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Dallas.

The protesters on Saturday night were largely black, and Alderman Khalif Rainey, who represents the district, said the city’s black residents are “tired of living under this oppression.”

“Now this is a warning cry. Where do we go from here? Where do we go as a community from here?” Rainey said.

Nearly 40 percent of Milwaukee’s 600,000 residents are black, and they are heavily concentrated on the north side.