National Guard put on standby after violence in Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Wisconsin's governor put the National Guard on standby 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 an 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 black man who authorities say was armed and fleeing a traffic stop.
Online court records showed a range of criminal charges against Smith, many of them misdemeanors, but also a 2015 felony charge of witness intimidation that was eventually dropped by prosecutors.
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.
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.
Milwaukee was beset by protests and calls for police reform after an officer shot and killed Dontre Hamilton, a mentally ill black man, in 2014.
In addition to the gas station, a bank, an auto parts store and a beauty supply shop were burned.