Jay-Z and Team Roc Shows Their Support to Protesters in Wisconsin Calling for Justice of Alvin Cole’s Death

This week, Jay-Z offered his assistance to the protesters in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. According to a spokesman for Team Roc, the protesters are calling for justice of Alvin Cole’s death, who died in the hands of police.

“Alvin Cole was shot and killed outside a Wauwatosa mall when some police officers responded to a disturbance call,” police said. Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber told reporters at the time that Cole fired a gun before an officer returned fire.

Jay-Z and the social justice arm of Roc Nation, founded by Jay-Z, showed their support after discovering that no charges were made against Joseph Mensah, the police officer who fired Cole on February 2.

Milwaukee County District Attorney, John T. Chisholm said, “there was sufficient evidence showing that Joseph Mensah believed deadly force was necessary and that belief was objectively reasonable.” Chisholm’s decision to not accuse Mensah has sparked protests in the city. 

During a protest on Thursday, two dozen people were arrested, Wauwatosa police said in a news release Friday. Those arrested include Alvin’s mother and sisters.

“Our hearts break for the family of Alvin Cole and the Wauwatosa community,” Dania Diaz, director of Team Roc, said in a statement. “Not only did the District Attorney’s Office fail to hold Officer Joseph Mensah accountable for killing Alvin, but the local police also arrested and injured Alvin’s mother Tracy and his sisters as they peacefully protested alongside Jacob Blake’s father.”

Jay-Z and Team Roc are also calling on Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the shooting and death of Alvin Cole.

This won’t be the first time Jay-Z will be offered his support, assistance, and also lend out his voice on social justice issues. The singer took out a full-page ad in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel calling for Mensah’s prosecution and across the country in dedication to George Floyd in June and posted bail in 2015 for protesters marching against police brutality.