Who was Alvin Cole? Jay-Z pays court fees and posts bail for Wisconsin protestors including family of Black teen
Hip-hop mogul and rapper Jay-Z has always been on the forefront when it comes to fighting for justice for the Black community and helping them in whichever way possible. Continuing with his selfless service, the 50-year-old rapper most recently extended his support to those arrested and fined in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin for protesting against Joseph Mensah, the officer who shot Alvin Cole on February 2, 2020.
The ‘Hard Knock Life’ hit-maker along with his staff at Team Roc, the social justice arm of Roc Nation, paid the court fees for several arrested. According to CBS News, a source confirmed to them that Jay-Z and his team paid an undisclosed amount in the court for Alvin Cole’s mother Tracy Cole, his sisters Taleavia, Tristiana and Tahudah, along with several others who were arrested at the demonstration. The hip-hop icon came forward to help when he got to know that no criminal charges were being pressed against the cop who shot Alvin Cole.
Speaking to CBS on the matter, Dania Diaz, the executive director for Team Roc, said, “Our hearts break for the family of Alvin Cole and the Wauwatosa community. 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.”
Alvin Cole was a 17-year-old black kid shot and killed outside a Wauwatosa mall by Wisconsin officer Joseph Mensah after the cops responded to a disturbance call in the area. According to the publication The Sun, Cole went to the Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa on the evening on February 2, 2020, where an argument broke out between a group the teenager was with and a male passer-by. According to the same publication, Cole, who was carrying a fanny pack, flashed a gun at the individual, who then attempted to take it from him.
According to the statement released by Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, Cole began to run from the cops when they arrived at the scene. The statement also mentions that police had asked him to drop his gun but somehow Cole shot himself in the arm when he tried fleeing from the scene. Shortly after, officer Joseph Mensah, who is also black, opened fire on the teenager. Also, the gun found at the scene was reported stolen in October 2019.
Now, CNN recently learned that the prosecutor reviewing the case revealed that the officer Joseph Mensah won’t face criminal charges in the entire matter. Milwaukee County District Attorney John T. Chisholm wrote a letter to the Wauwatosa police chief which read, “I do not believe that the State could disprove self-defense or defense of others in this case and therefore could not meet the burden required to charge Officer Mensah. With this, I conclude my criminal review of the matter.”
This is the entire reason why protests broke out against police in the first place by Cole’s family among others and then Jay-Z stepped-in to help the needy. Jay-Z also took out a full-page ad in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel back in July against officer Joseph Mensah.
This is not the first time when the multiple award-winning rapper has come out to help the Black community. The hip-hop entrepreneur took out full-page ads across the country in June paying his respects to the late George Floyd and he had also posted bail for protesters in 2015 when they marched against police brutality.