Jay-Z has posted the bond and paid the fines of several protesters who were arrested in the US state of Wisconsin earlier this week.
Protesters had been showing against the Milwaukee district attorney’s decision not to charge police officer Joseph Mensah for the shooting of 17-year-old Alvin Cole in February.
The fatal shot came just three minutes after police began chasing the teen through a car park in the town of Wauwatosa.
Cole’s mother, Tracy, part of the dozens of protesters arrested on the evening of Thursday, October 8.
As reported by CBS News, Jay-Z, and Team Roc, the social justice arm of his entertainment company, Roc Nation,
paid an undisclosed amount in court fees for Tracy and her daughters Taleavia, Tristiana, and Tahudah.
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Tracy reportedly injured after officers used “excessive force” during the arrests.
They arrested 24 people for being in violation of the city’s 7pm COVID curfew to attend the protests.
They could still make additional charges against those arrested depending on police review of video footage and other evidence.
Dania Diaz, executive director for Team Roc, said in a statement,
“Our hearts break for the family of Alvin Cole and the Wauwatosa community.
Not only did the District Attorney’s Office cannot hold Officer Joseph Mensah accountable for killing Alvin,
but the local police also arrested and injured Alvin’s mother Tracy and his sisters as they peacefully protested…”
In July, Jay-Z penned an open letter in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel calling for police in the
Wisconsin capital of Milwaukee to prosecute Mensah, who has allegedly fatally shot three men –
Coles, Antonio Gonzales, and Jay Anderson – since 2015.
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“His actions show an utter disregard for the lives of these young men,” the letter read.
“What is also egregious is that the department’s failure to mandate body cameras has enabled these tragic instances.
The failure to preserve video evidence has impeded multiple investigations.”
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