A former Wauwatosa police officer who shot and killed three people while on duty is resigning from his current role at the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department, and possibly law enforcement altogether.
Joseph Mensah, a detective with the department, submitted his resignation in a letter to Waukesha County Sheriff Eric Severson July 17.
“After much consideration, I feel it would be in the best interest of the Sheriff’s Department, the community, my family, and my own personal well-being, that I transition out of the law enforcement profession,” Mensah said in the resignation letter, which was obtained July 18 by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Mensah will leave the department effective July 31, according to the letter.
Jessica McBride with Wisconsin Right Now, a conservative website, first posted the resignation letter on Facebook.
Mensah became a Waukesha County sheriff’s deputy in January 2021, nearly two months after he resigned from the Wauwatosa Police Department.
While employed as a Wauwatosa police officer, Mensah shot and killed three people within five years while on duty. The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office ruled all three shootings justified self-defense, and ultimately declined to bring any charges against Mensah.
The decision not to charge Mensah in Cole’s shooting led to protests. The families of Alvin Cole, Antonio Gonzales and Jay Anderson, all killed by Mensah, brought lawsuits against Mensah, the city and the police department.
A civil trial in March 2025 brought against Mensah by the parents of 17-year-old Alvin Cole, who was shot and killed by Mensah at Mayfair Mall in February 2020, ended in a hung jury. Cole’s family had asked the jury to grant $22 million in damages for loss of life, pain and suffering and punitive damages for Mensah’s conduct.
In his resignation letter, Mensah said the sheriff’s department “accepted me and brought me into your family when I needed them the most.”
“I am beyond thankful, that I had the opportunity to serve along side the men and women of this agency,” he said.
This story will be updated.
Bridget Fogarty covers Brookfield, Wauwatosa and Elm Grove for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be contacted at bfogarty@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Joseph Mensah, former Tosa officer with 3 fatal shootings, to leave law enforcement role
Reporting by Bridget Fogarty, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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