US: Wisconsin gov. activates National Guard amid unrest

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker activated the state’s National Guard on Sunday amid civil unrest following a fatal police-involved shooting in a predominantly black Milwaukee neighborhood.

On Saturday afternoon, police shot and killed a suspect who reportedly attempted to flee after he was pulled over by police during a traffic stop Saturday afternoon.

Police have not identified the man, only saying that he was a 23-year-old Milwaukee man. But they said he was carrying a loaded semiautomatic handgun when he was stopped.

Protests against the shooting degenerated into violence later that night with demonstrators setting local businesses and cars ablaze in the north Milwaukee Sherman Park neighborhood. Shots fired were also reported amidst the melee.

Volunteers spent much of Sunday morning clearing debris from city streets, and police said that they were beginning to reduce deployments to Sherman Park.

Walker said in a statement that the decision to activate the guard was made following a request from Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, and after discussions with Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett.

He said the guard would “aid local law enforcement upon request.”

The White House said President Barack Obama was briefed on the developments Sunday morning by senior advisor Valerie Jarrett. She previously spoke with Barrett "to offer the Administration's support for local authorities."

Police-involved shootings of black men have prompted intermittent protests in cities across the U.S. since Michael Brown was fatally shot in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014.

The National Guard was deployed during the weeks-long civil unrest there.