On Sunday, ACLU of Wisconsin staff joined a packed theater at the Milwaukee Film Festival to watch the world premiere of “Cycle,” a documentary about the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Ty’Rese West by Mount Pleasant Police Officer Eric Giese.
The documentary was compelling and showed that families who have loved ones killed by police rarely see justice, as was the case for Ty’Rese and his family. Despite multiple inconsistencies in the officer’s story, there was also no physical evidence that corroborated his story – there was no bodycam footage, continuous audio, or anything that would provide any objective evidence.
At the end of the film, we see the cycle involving Ty’Rese and his family come to an end, but the audience was warned that the cycle repeats itself.
Less than eight hours after the world premiere of “Cycle,” the cycle began again as Racine Police announced that a person had been fatally shot by a police officer overnight.
I won’t repeat the narrative that the police shared, because it has not been substantiated, but it was full of accusations about the person who was shot.
I made the mistake of looking at the comment section and my stomach dropped. People applauding the officers for “keeping them safe,” saying horrible things about the unnamed victim of the shooting, regardless of any concrete facts or evidence, based only on the police’s word. People bought the narrative as if it were fact – hook, line, and sinker.
As is the case in every instance, police are the first ones to share the narrative of the incident, and as a former crime and court reporter, I can tell you that those releases are often self-serving and devoid of any objective evidence.
But don’t take my word for it. When George Floyd was killed by police, the Minneapolis Police’s first incident report said:
“Two officers arrived and located the suspect, a male believed to be in his 40s, in his car. He was ordered to step from his car. After he got out, he physically resisted officers. Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted he appeared to be suffering medical distress. Officers called for an ambulance. He was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center by ambulance, where he died a short time later.”
We saw the video shortly after, which clearly shows an officer kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for nine minutes. This was never mentioned in the police report.
Not only do police get to release the narrative first, but they also have all the power. They decide what, if any, information is released to the public. While the case in Racine has been referred to Wisconsin’s Department of Justice, we know the “thin blue line” runs strong. They protect their own. And when people ask for evidence, they hold out for as long as they can, all while their one-sided narrative spreads like wildfire across the media.
In the meantime, the family cries over their loved one, pleads for answers, and has to hear nasty comments from the public based on an unproven narrative provided by police, who have a vested interest in demonizing the person who was killed.
Just this morning, it was announced that the Milwaukee District Attorney’s office would not charge the five Columbus Ohio Police officers who shot and killed Samuel Sharpe on July 16, 2024, during the Republican National Convention would not be charged for the shooting. He was shot 20 times.
The cycle continues. And continues. And continues. We’ve seen it happen, but nothing seems to stop it.
Police cannot assume trust. As public servants, they should be transparent and provide all objective evidence while sharing information about the incident. They should not create harmful – and sometimes untrue – narratives, and they should not have the power and authority to do so. And when police have lied, they should be held to account.
Body cameras and audio recordings should be quickly released, first to the family, and then to the public so that they can get the full picture of what happened.
