POLICE DROP THE KNIFE. DROP THE KNIFE NOW. DROP IT NOW. >> Only Cams provides body cam footage for transparency and educational purposes only. On July 16th, 2024, just before the Republican National Convention was set to begin, a fatal encounter between an unhoused Milwaukee resident and outofstate police sparked immediate outrage and a renewed national discussion on jurisdiction and accountability. >> Hey fellas, bring it in for a minute. Commander wants to pass up the law. On that day, a group of officers involved were part of a bicycle unit from the Columbus Police Department in Ohio and were gathered for a briefing near the convention area. >> Just real quick, I talked to Colton today just to see if he had any updates for us. I'm going to try to do this every morning. And um things that you're seeing so far this morning is the protests have definitely and the movements and just attempts of disruption have definitely started. Um they're um they found about eight different groups that have already started moving around. Proabortion, anti-abortion, kind of fighting hands with each other versus um stuff directed towards >> One officer quickly notices the noise of an argument escalating into a fight. The man at the center of the confrontation was 43-year-old Samuel Sharp Jr. known in the community for his work with the unsheltered. >> The event got a knife. Yes, he does. >> DROP YOUR KNIFE. >> DROP THE KNIFE. POLICE. POLICE. DROP THE KNIFE. DROP THE KNIFE NOW. FIRE. FIRE. FIRE. FIRE. FIRE. FIRE. FIRE. FIRE. FIRE. Officers moved to intervene in the altercation between Mr. Sharp, who was reportedly armed with two knives, and another unarmed individual. According to police, Sharp ignored their commands and lunged toward the unarmed man. He was fatally wounded, shot as many as 27 times. >> GET DOWN. GET DOWN. >> GET DOWN. GET DOWN. Get down. >> CAMERA'S ON NOW. YOU NEED A MEDIC. >> Hey buddy. Hey buddy. >> SEC. >> You're okay. >> We're good. >> We're good. We're good. >> Immediately after the shooting, officers moved in to provide medical assistance trying to revive Mr. Sharp. Secure this ROAD RIGHT HERE. >> HEY, GET THE BIKE. CUT OFF THE ROAD. horning pressure. Dick, take his boots off. Let's see what's going on underneath these. >> You got to work your way out, man. >> Take him down. >> You got to work your way out, man. Off the sidewalk on that side, please. >> You need to get on that side of the road for me. >> I'm not I'm not asking you. I'm telling you, man. You got to go. Please. We're going to set up a big perimeter, man. It's going to be a bigger perimeter. You got to get on that side. I'm going to take away, >> my man. >> You got to be on everybody else. >> Don't say [ __ ] to me on my [ __ ] My [ __ ] [ __ ] I need you to take his position, please. >> I'm switching. >> Hey, somebody take your spot. >> Switch out. >> You got it. >> Take his spot, please. >> Up. Cabra. Mason. Cabra. Move out. Do you guys have more tape to put up in this area? >> All right. Here's where we shot. Sir, watch for the casings. Watch for the casings. Gross, can you figure out which of your men shot if you can give me their information, please? Their full names. If you have serial >> squad, you might not. You don't hear anything. >> This just be over here together. Regroup. >> Squad to the trees. >> We will deal with that in a second. We want to make sure all our guys are here. >> Officers quickly gathered, coordinating to clarify who had fired and deciding on the next steps. Yes. Okay. Who else? >> Squad two. >> Meet by the tree, please. >> Who else? You dick. You four. >> If you see Milwaukee near you. >> Have Milwaukee take over with the tape. >> Can you guys help out with this tape? Who is beside me? Commander, we're on the line. >> Why don't you guys >> I was on his right >> for the time being. Go over there by your bikes. >> Hey, let's go. Anybody have fired, come with me. We are not talking about anything. Do you understand? They're not communicating on the phone. Body still launcher. >> Body cameras still active until we're told otherwise. >> Yes, sir. >> Go double check with them. Darren, did you >> What? >> Did you shoot? >> No. >> Okay. Camera stay on till otherwise noted. >> What? >> Camera's off. Here we go. >> The killing immediately solidified the preconvention fears of Milwaukey's black residents. Questions arose about accountability and procedure. Why were outofstate officers unfamiliar with the community policing a neighborhood well outside the official RNC perimeter? >> But why were out of state police patrolling city neighborhoods beyond the security zone? So you blame the RNC for the death of Samuel Sharp? Why? >> I do I um I fully believe that had the RNC not been hosted in Milwaukee, we wouldn't have even had those outofstate police even over there. And I think there is calls and questions of why they were over there in the first place. And I've seen um accounts from friends and family members that all have said that if this was a local police officer, it probably would not have resulted in his death because they knew him. um and they would be more trained in deescalation. >> For his family, the loss was compounded by the narrative surrounding the incident. Mr. Sharp was a devout Christian who was dedicated to helping others in Milwaukee's unsheltered community. He was a man who had found purpose in service. >> Driving over here, seeing someone walk, and I'm thinking that's my brother. Is that my brother? No. No, cuz he's gone. And I'm not saying this just because you're here. Sam was kind to everyone. He would give his last dollar. I've seen him take his shirt off his back and give it to someone else. You know, is there any other way that even if you say he had mental issues or whatever, is there any way we can other way that we can not use guns? I just wish my brother was still here. I wish the cops would have just found out what the situation was. >> His sister, Angelique Sharp, stated they are fighting for transparency and justice, explaining, "We really want justice for my brother." both of them didn't turn around and and respond. They're both and um I also the I want to um debunk the narrative that this person life was in danger. I've never seen a person come to a a fight a quote unquote knife fight that's in danger that's engaging with quote unquote the perpetrator. Why aren't you running? Why aren't you if you are imminent danger and you scared for your life, there's no way that 25 or 30 police officers, however many it is, and talked about he had a knife and that's the only conclusion you came up with was to go down there and shoot him and kill him dead like that. I want um transparency. We want um we want not the clips of the video. We want full we want full clips. We want the autopsy um report, you know, and we we really want justice for my brother. News of Samuel Sharp Jr.'s death sparked outrage. Protesters gathered near the park where he died, demanding justice and accountability from the police. It sucks in real life. It really sucks. Milwaukee isn't so small. It isn't. They try to make us small, but we're not. We won the NBA championship. We got the ar I don't even care. I don't I don't even care what it's called. Sam Shark treated as if he didn't matter. He mattered to us. We just want you to understand he could have been your family member. >> He could have been your brother. >> Police to just shoot him like that. 27 bullets. Come on. And you shot my nephew like that. >> You shot him. >> It didn't take all of that. If he was someone else, if he was a different race, and I hate to bring race in this because I have all races in my family, but you wouldn't have killed him like that. You wouldn't have shot HIM LIKE THAT. 27 bullets and all this he was doing was trying to protect himself. He went to the police and they did nothing. And now my nephew is shot. >> The shooting was investigated by the Greenfield Police Department and reviewed by the Milwaukee County District Attorney. In May 2025, the DA ruled that the officers would not face charges, stating their use of deadly force was lawful under Wisconsin standards for preventing imminent harm. >> The Ohio police officers who killed a man during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee will not face any criminal charges. >> The death of Samuel Sharp Jr. serves as a stark reminder of the risks when accountability and communication break down. For community leaders, activists, and policymakers, the focus remains on ensuring that the presence of outside police forces never again leads to a fatal outcome that leaves a community in pain and demanding answers. These moments matter because lives depend on them. If you like content like this, please like and subscribe.