Terrifying body camera footage captured the moment Ohio police shot and killed an armed suspect just outside the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Columbus police, who were in Wisconsin to help with heightened security for the event following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, were seen in footage gathering in a parking lot less than a mile from the venue on Tuesday.
One of the officers on the scene was giving a briefing on the anti-abortion protests outside the convention site, noting that the two sides were “butting heads” and that there were “things headed toward the event,” when someone yelled, “He’s got a knife, yes he does.”
The other officers turned around and saw a shirtless man brandishing two knives, and proceeded to run after him, yelling, “Hey, drop your knife, drop your knife.”
The man, who has since been identified as Samuel Sharpe Jr., appeared to pause for a moment, before lunging at another shirtless man with knives in both hands.
Shocking body camera footage captured the moment Columbus, Ohio, police shot and killed a homeless man outside the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee
Police then opened fire and Sharpe Jr. was pronounced dead at the scene.
The shooting is not believed to be related to the convention, but law enforcement is on high alert following the attempted assassination of Trump over the weekend.
Columbus Mayor Anthony J. Ginther said police decided to release the body camera footage in the interest of transparency, saying it “shows that Columbus officers acted in accordance with their training to avoid physical harm to a potential victim.” The Columbus Dispatch reports.
“The Columbus officers were invited to Milwaukee, but they take an oath to protect and serve, wherever and whenever they are called to serve,” he said, adding that the city will support “a full and thorough investigation into the events that occurred in accordance with local policy and local law.”
“We continue to rely on the Milwaukee Area Investigation Team for further updates on the status of the investigation,” the mayor said.
As an aid to the Milwaukee Police Department, Columbus officers were required to follow their standard operating procedures on use of force.
The five officers involved in the shooting have been sent back to Ohio.
If matters rise to the level of probable cause for a crime, they will be referred directly to the Milwaukee Police or an outside law enforcement agency for investigation.
Columbus police were in Wisconsin to help with heightened security for the event following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
The officers involved in the shooting have been sent back to Ohio.
Initial reports suggested the dead man was homeless, had been involved in a fight with another homeless man and was a crack user.
Witnesses said the man was known by the nickname “Jehovah” and lived in a camp with dozens of other homeless people.
Shelly Sarasin, co-founder and director of Street Angels, said her outreach group goes to the camp every Monday with mobile shower units.
Sharpe, who friends said was a homeless veteran in his 40s, began using the shower in April and decided to use it just a day before he was fatally shot.
As he walked out of the facility, Sarasin said, Sharpe kept saying, “I love you guys.”
“We may be the last people I say that to,” Sarasin said, noting that his death will affect the roughly 70 other homeless people in the area.
“He was a person. He was a human being,” she said.
“This is yet another trauma for those who knew him and still live here.”
The shooting occurred outside the Secret Service-guarded perimeter near a social services building in the early afternoon.
The shooting occurred outside the Secret Service-guarded perimeter near a social services building in the early afternoon.
More than 100 police officers responded to the scene near North 14th and West Vliet streets after the incident.
Within the convention, the theme of the day was “Making America Safe Again.”
This came just days after a would-be assassin shot Trump in the ear during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The attacker, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, was shot dead by Secret Service. One protester was killed and two others were injured.
Less than 24 hours after the shooting, Trump decided he would go ahead with everything to Milwaukee for the Convention.
He will end the week as the official Republican presidential candidate.
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley told Fox News on Sunday after the shooting the day before that “physically, the stadium is ready. Security is here.”
The U.S. Secret Service requires protesters and others planning to demonstrate at the convention to register and sign in at the Rally Speakers Platform and Parade Route.
Registrants must remain within the First Amendment designated area.
The parade route allows groups to move and march to express their views, while the speaker’s platform gives protesters a space of time to have the opportunity to make comments and speeches about their cause.
Both the platform and the parade route are “within sight and earshot of the Republican National Convention,” according to USSS.
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley told Fox News on Sunday that “physically, the stadium is ready. Security is here.”
“We feel very comfortable working with the Secret Service, we’re working with 40 different law enforcement agencies in terms of what that security will look like,” he added.
During a press conference on Sunday, USSS said: “We are not completing any changes to our operational security plans for this event.”
“We are confident in the plans we have and we are moving forward with them,” they added.
