Column: A Bipartisan Opportunity to Support Law Enforcement
March 21, 2025
Column: A Bipartisan Opportunity to Support Law Enforcement
In 2020 Officer Joseph Mensah, then with the Wauwatosa Police Department, shot and killed Alvin Cole, an armed suspect who reached for a gun during a foot chase outside Mayfair Mall. This incident started a years-long legal battle that continues to this day.
The shooting was investigated by the Milwaukee Police Department and reviewed by Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, who declined to issue charges on the grounds that Mensah’s action was a justifiable use of self-defense.
Officer Mensah was similarly cleared by separate investigations by the Wauwatosa Police Department, the United States Attorney’s Office, and former US Attorney Steve Biskupic.
Even after all that, upon being petitioned to re-open the case, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Glenn Yamahiro launched yet another investigation into Mensah, assigning two special prosecutors to the case. After nearly another year of legal ordeals, Mensah was cleared yet again.
Similar events occurred with Madison Police Officer Matt Kenny after Dane County DA Ismael Ozanne declined to issue charges after determining his fatal shooting of Tony Robinson was an exercise of self-defense.
Judge Yamahiro was able to re-open the case without new evidence or rationale because of an obscure law dating to before statehood, often called the “John Doe Law.” It allows secretive investigations into a citizen without any right to cross-examination, regardless of whether the targeted person was found not to have broken any laws. Any person or group can venue shop for a sympathetic judge and request such an investigation into any citizen.
There is no limit or standard for how many investigations a judge can launch or their duration. Petitioners don’t even need to present new evidence refuting the prior finding of self-defense.
The toll this legal process can take on law enforcement officers is immense and merely the threat of it is creating morale problems among police.
Law enforcement officers are constantly put in high-stakes encounters. They are trained to de-escalate dangerous situations and their professionalism is remarkable, but the chance they will need to use force in self-defense or the defense of others is ever-present.
Officers must also pay legal fees out of their own pockets. They live with anxiety that any encounter could lead to professional and financial ruin and a years-long ordeal for their families, just as Mensah experienced.
In numerous conversations and ride-alongs with law enforcement leaders, officers told me this is one of the reasons people leave the profession, worsening staffing and morale problems.
That’s why I authored Senate Bill 25. SB 25 requires that, before a judge can re-open a case where a District Attorney declined to issue charges, new evidence must be presented that disputes the prior finding of legally justified self-defense.
The robust processes that exist now will remain, ensuring thorough investigations into police use of force incidents. Further, petitioners can still ask a judge to re-open a case under this law.
The bill does only one thing: require new evidence. This puts a check on the current open-ended, limitless nature of these probes and respects the decisions of elected District Attorneys.
SB 25 recently passed the Senate with support from members of both parties. While Governor Evers vetoed a similar bill last session, it’s my hope that the revised bill and bipartisan vote will persuade him of the need to shield law enforcement from potentially endless, baseless legal harassment.
Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, represents Wisconsin’s 5th Senate District, including Brookfield, Elm Grove, Pewaukee, and parts of Milwaukee, Waukesha, Wauwatosa and West Allis: Sen.Hutton@legis.wisconsin.gov.