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Judge delays charging decision for Wisconsin officer

A judge has delayed his decision on whether to charge a Wisconsin police officer who killed a man sitting in a parked car

Via AP news wire
Monday 21 June 2021 19:27 BST
Police Shooting Wisconsin Mensah
Police Shooting Wisconsin Mensah (THE FAMILY OF JAY ANDERSON)

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A judge has delayed his decision on whether to go around prosecutors and charge a Wisconsin police officer who killed a man sitting in a parked car.

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Glenn Yamahiro was expected to decide Friday whether to charge Joseph Mensah in Jay Anderson Jr.'s death five years ago.

But Anderson family attorney Kimberley Motely said Monday that Yamahiro has pushed the decision back to July 28. A message left at Yamahiro's chambers on Monday wasn't immediately returned.

Mensah shot Anderson in 2016 after he found Anderson sleeping in his car after hours in a Wauwatosa park. He said he fired when Anderson reached for a gun on the passenger seat.

Anderson was the second of three people Mensah killed during a five-year stint with the Wauwatosa Police Department. Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm cleared Mensah of criminal wrongdoing in each case.

Anderson's family invoked a rarely used grand jury-like proceeding known as a John Doe in hopes of getting a judge to charge Mensah directly. The process has a judge listening to witness testimony to decide whether enough probable causes exists to justify charges.

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