Milwaukee Police released body camera video Thursday, showing the deadly shooting of a wanted man on the city’s Southside.
Mario Hobson, 48, was wanted for felony domestic violence and probation violations when Milwaukee police caught up with him on Aug.13.
Watch the full video below.
The content of this video is graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.
It starts with a traffic stop. Hobson was a passenger in a car stopped by police. Officers ordered both the driver and Hobson out of the car. The driver got out, but Hobson started sliding over from the passenger seat to the driver’s seat. Instead of getting out as instructed by officers, Hobson takes off in the car. An officer is knocked down in the middle of the street, and a chase ensues. Ultimately, Hobson got away.
Two different officers found Hobson hours later near 10th and Burnham. He was in the back seat of a Jeep his daughter was driving.
Two children were also in the backseat. When the officers ordered Hobson to get out of the car, he pulled out a gun and threatened to kill himself.
Hobson can be seen standing near the car with the gun to his head. Some officers take cover, as others order him to put the weapon down. Hobson motions toward police with the gun in his hand while it's pointed toward his head.
Chief Alfonso Morales says when Hobson fired his weapon, two officers fired six rounds at Hobson. The shooting is still under investigation, so it hasn't been determined whether Hobson shot himself, or was hit by an officer's gunfire.
“This was not an easy decision to release this video,” Morales said. “This is not meant to embarrass or upset the members of Hobson’s family or the officers involved.”
Morales says he notified Hobson’s family before releasing the body camera footage.
“The idea is to get video out there to dispel the rumors and concerns,” Homicide Division Captain Joseph McLin said.
It’s Captain McLin’s voice that’s heard as the body camera video plays. In the video put together by MPD, he is narrating what happened. Some members of the media questioned whether that’s police editorializing the situation.
“It’s definitely not us taking control of the narrative,” Morales said. “It’s not editorializing. We have to give some type of explanation to the video people are watching, or they’ll ask questions and formulate their own answers as to what’s going on.”
Morales says this video release is following up on the promise he made eight months ago, to start making police video of critical incidents public.
“It’s going to raise questions, some people aren’t going to be happy, but it’s part of transparency,” Morales said.
Morales says the goal is to release video of any critical incident, within 45 days of it happening.
We did reach out to Hobson’s family for comment, but did not hear back.
This officer-involved shooting is still under investigation. The Waukesha Police Department is handling the review. The Milwaukee police officers involved are on administrative duty, pending the outcome.
