La Crosse asst. police chief vents about Milwaukee shooting, riots

Criminal pointing gun at police, and shot by a black officer, has led to riots

It’s hard to be a cop and not react to situations like the one that led to riots in Milwaukee this past week.

La Crosse assistant police chief Rob Abraham, in the WIZM studio Wed. afternoon, said it gets frustrating watching public reaction to the police shooting of Sylville Smith.

“You have an officer who’s apparently and allegedly staring down the barrel of a loaded, stolen firearm in the hands of a known criminal,” Abraham said. “And the officer’s not supposed to do something?

“If that’s the case, we might as well pack it all up and go home.”

That shooting is still under investigation by the state and Abraham, of course, doesn’t know every single detail about the case. But he still wonders why it’s sent the community into a tailspin.

“If you aim a gun, a loaded gun – whether it’s loaded or not loaded, I’m sorry, we don’t know. We don’t ask people, ‘Is that gun loaded?'” Abraham said. “If you aim a gun at a police officer, you should expect to get shot.

“When we’re confronted with those situations, we do what we’re trained to do. That’s what we’re trained to do. We’re trained to protect our lives and the lives of others. You’re not expected to go home in a casket.”

The officer involved in the shooting has been subjected to numerous threats and placed on administrative leave.  

With the details the public knows, Abraham questions what other action should the officer have taken besides shooting the man.  

Sylville Smith’s death sparked, not only the riots, but a call up of the National Guard.