Donald Trump says shooting of black man by police in Milwaukee was justified Donald Trump has said that initial evidence in the shooting of a black man by police in Milwaukee showed that it was justified.
Sylville Smith, 23, was shot dead by police on Saturday. Authorities said he was stopped for acting suspiciously and then fled, and was shot by police because he was carrying an illegal handgun and refused orders to drop it.
The Republican presidential nominee said at a rally in the city on Tuesday night that it was law and order.
We have to obey the laws or we don’t have a country, said Trump. We have a case where good people are out there trying to get people to sort of calm down and they’re not calming down and we have our police who are doing a phenomenal job.
Recent police shootings across the country have sparked several violent demonstrations.
Mr Trump said that the police were justified in shooting Mr Smith dead: The gun was pointed at his [a police officer’s] head supposedly ready to be fired.
Who can have a problem with that? That’s what the narrative is. Maybe it’s not true. If it is true, people shouldn’t be rioting.
Demonstrations on Saturday night turned violent, when cars and businesses were set ablaze and gunfire ripped through the area of protests. The city was calmer on Monday night after a curfew was put in place for teenagers, and community leaders called for peace.
Police violence against African-Americans has set off intermittent, sometimes violent protests in the past two years, igniting a national debate over race and policing in the United States and giving rise to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Trump frequently talks about the need to restore safety and order in the wake of such unrest. He will hold an event with veterans and law enforcement, appear at the town hall meeting sponsored by Fox News, and then hold a rally in the Milwaukee suburb of West Bend on Tuesday night.
His presence in Milwaukee could prompt more demonstrations. Opponents of the New York real estate mogul frequently demonstrate inside and outside his campaign events. A rally in Chicago earlier this year was canceled after demonstrations grew violent.