• Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Advertise
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Officer Privacy
  • Jobs
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Law Officer
Law Officer
No Result
View All Result

14 key facts to remember about Judge Yamahiro’s outrageous Mensah decision

Mensah decision

(Wisconsin Right Now)

August 11, 2021
Wisconsin Right NowbyWisconsin Right Now
Share and speak up for justice, law & order...

Milwaukee County Judge Glenn Yamahiro, in an unprecedented decision, has outrageously found probable cause that former Wauwatosa police officer Joseph Mensah committed homicide in the five-year-old death of Jay Anderson Jr.

Judge Yamahiro will appoint a special prosecutor to consider whether to bring a homicide charge using a little-known provision in John Doe laws. Remember that any charges would need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt before a jury. That’s a higher standard than probable cause.

We don’t think the media will tell you all of these facts, but they are important to remember. Here are 14 key facts that are important to remember about Judge Yamahiro’s outrageous decision:

Judge Yamahiro Key Facts

1. Judge Yamahiro has a significant alleged conflict of interest. His ex-wife and the mother of his child, Deja Vishny, assisted in representing the Anderson family and has worked side-by-side for months with attorney Kimberley Motley, calling for criminal charges against Mensah. See our previous story exploring the conflict of interest question in depth here. How close are the pair? “Best partner EVER!!” Motley, who asked Yamahiro to charge Mensah and handled the case in court, declared about Vishny, a former Milwaukee public defender.

Mensah decisionJudge Yamahiro is a former public defender who was appointed by liberal Governor Jim Doyle to the bench.

Mensah decision2. Mensah was cleared by multiple reviews, one dating back FIVE YEARS. In 2016, John Chisholm, the DA, “told Anderson’s family that Mensah’s actions were justified self-defense when he saw Anderson’s hands drop during their interaction,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported in 2016. In 2020, former US Attorney Steve Biskupic, acting as an independent investigator, found that there was insufficient evidence to find that Mensah violated the law in Anderson’s death. Federal prosecutors declined to charge Mensah after yet another review.

3. Mensah’s lawyer didn’t get to present any evidence or cross-examine any witnesses at the Judge Yamahiro hearing due to how John Doe laws work. Any citizen – in this case Anderson’s family via Motley – can petition a judge to consider charges that a DA won’t issue. However, the Chicago Tribune previously reported that the provision is so rare it’s used once or twice a decade.

4. Mensah did not testify at the Judge Yamahiro hearing.

5. Mensah’s lawyer did not get to present his own experts at the Judge Yamahiro hearing.

6. The evidence the judge heard was crafted and presented by Kimberley Motley, attorney for the Anderson family. Thus, it was a completely one-sided presentation.

7. Anderson possessed a firearm, a Ruger model SR9c, 9mm, semi-automatic pistol, according to Biskupic’s report. His loaded firearm was on the front passenger seat next to him when Mensah shot him.

8. Anderson had a prior misdemeanor conviction for possession of a firearm while intoxicated. That night Anderson consumed brandy and smoked marijuana with a friend, who suggested that Anderson go home. His blood-alcohol level several hours after leaving a bar was still 0.11, according to Biskupic’s report. He entered the park at 1:37 a.m. He likely smoked more marijuana (the car was still filled with marijuana odor when examined by police officers an hour and a half later, and a very small amount of marijuana residue was in a paper fold in Anderson’s pocket.)

9. Mensah’s personnel file contains only one disciplinary incident, a letter of reprimand for negligently causing a minor collision. His file contains 14 pages of commendations from citizens and other police departments.

10. Mensah said he gave Anderson repeated orders not to reach for the gun. Anderson initially complied and placed his hands in the air about chest or shoulder height. “However he suddenly reached toward the seat with his right hand while looking at the weapon (on the seat.) Mensah stated he immediately moved his weapon to the high ready position and ordered hands up and radioed he has a gun! Step it up! The driver placed both hands in the air stating, ‘What? There’s nothing there! It’s nothing!” That’s according to Biskupic’s report, citing Mensah’s account to investigators.

Mensah said, “I see the gun! Don’t reach for it!” The driver again reached toward the front passenger seat. Mensah ordered, “Stop reaching for the weapon!” The driver pulled back and said, “It’s nothing.” Mensah said the driver made at least four separate movements with his right arm toward the front passenger seat. Each time Mensah ordered him to stop and the driver returned both of his hands into the air.

Mensah stated the last time the driver made a movement, instead of just his right arm moving toward the gun on the seat, his whole body lunged toward it. Mensah yelled, “Keep your hands up,” but the driver did not comply and Mensah discharged his weapon 3-4 times, Mensah told investigators. He felt exposed because he was in an open parking lot without any cover. He said he discharged his weapon because he knew the firearm was on the passenger front seat of the vehicle. He stated he ordered and pleaded with the driver numerous times to not reach for the weapon. He shot because the driver reached for the weapon and he believed the driver was going to use it against him. Officers have a right under Wisconsin law to use lethal force if they reasonably believe that their life or that of another was in imminent danger.

11. Video documented that Anderson made a movement in the car right before Mensah fired. A squad video shows Mensah standing outside the passenger door with his right arm extended. Anderson is sitting in the driver seat and his right arm can be observed in the air. The driver was moving around with both hands in the air. Then, the driver’s right hand was moving side to side. Then movement by the driver is observed and the right hand can be seen extending toward the passenger front seat. The right hand dropped from view. That’s all according to the Biskupic report. Does that provide reasonable doubt?

12. William Harmening, the Jay Anderson family “expert” whose testimony against Mensah was cited repeatedly by Yamahiro as a foundation for his decision, was rejected as an expert in another police shooting case because a federal judge believed he “lacked the needed expertise” in key areas. In addition, Wisconsin Right Now found that the professor – who told a judge that Mensah’s use of force was not “reasonable” – was previously accused of presenting a conclusion against a police officer that was “riddled with errors.” Harmening’s expert testimony was limited in other cases, and another judge raised questions about some of his findings. In a Fresno case, he was accused of injecting “mere speculation and conjecture” into his testimony. Read our story on Harmening here.

13. Waukesha County Sheriff Eric Severson, who hired Mensah as a sheriff’s deputy, said he did a careful and exhaustive review of the past shootings: “The reality is that there is no evidence to lead anyone to credibly believe some kind of linkage between any one of these (Mensah’s) deadly force situations other than the persons involved chose to arm themselves with deadly weapons and refused lawful orders by police and turned those weapons toward others,” said Severson. Of Anderson he said, “In his (Biskupic’s) own words, the guy was legally intoxicated and in possession of a firearm; that in and of itself is a crime. He was repeatedly being told, ‘Do not pick up that gun.’ He did it anyway.”

14. Mensah was also cleared in two other shootings. Both of the people shot in those cases had weapons.


Note: This article originally appeared at Wisconsin Right Now.


Share and speak up for justice, law & order...
Tags: joseph mensahJudge Glenn YamahiroJudge Yamahiromust-readwauwatosawisconsin
Wisconsin Right Now

Wisconsin Right Now

Wisconsin Right Now is a Wisconsin-focused news platform founded in 2020 that offers breaking news and some opinion, with an emphasis on Wisconsin. We are self-funded and, thus, an independent voice. Our mission is to give you the news you won’t see elsewhere.

Related Posts

Chad T. Richards

College wrestler identified as alleged killer of female gymnast in Wisconsin

September 4, 2024
Kara Welsh

College gymnast shot and killed near Wisconsin campus

September 2, 2024
Milwaukee Mile

The National Police Association #31 Chevy to Display Picture of Missing Child at the Sprecher 150 at The Milwaukee Mile

August 23, 2024
Milwaukee felon

Milwaukee Felon Attacks Brookfield Officer, Drags Him With Car in Mall Parking Lot, Police Say

May 30, 2024
Wisconsin sexual assault case

Wisconsin sexual assault case demonstrates failure of Biden’s open border policy, state rep. says

May 28, 2024
Chris Larson

‘Kill With Disregard & Glee’: Wisconsin State Sen. Chris Larson Slammed for ‘Dangerous Anti-Police Rhetoric’ on Senate Floor

May 17, 2024
Load More

Latest Articles

Melissa Hortman

Former Minnesota House Speaker Assassinated in Attack on Multiple Lawmakers

June 14, 2025

Sheriff: If You Throw a Brick At Our Deputy, ‘We Will Kill You, Graveyard Dead’

June 13, 2025

Former USAID Officer and Executives Plead Guilty in $550 Million Bribery Scheme

June 13, 2025

A Case Study in Federal Corruption and Media Silence

June 12, 2025

‘Completely blew it’: Former union president calls out Minneapolis Police Department leadership missteps

June 12, 2025
Pixabay

Police Shoot Man Wielding Chainsaw During Disturbance

June 12, 2025
Load More

Weekly E-Newsletter

Subscribe—and get the latest news and editorials direct from Law Officer each week!

[newsletter_form type="minimal"]

Protect Your Privacy

JOIN THE FIGHT

BE COURAGEOUS

POPULAR GEAR

Tactical Pants

Tactical Boots

 

FIND MORE…

Law Officer

© 2024 LawOfficer.com

LawOfficer.com

  • Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Corrections
  • Contact

Speak up for justice, law & order

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Advertise
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Officer Privacy
  • Jobs
  • Contact

© 2024 LawOfficer.com