Witness to police shooting that led to Milwaukee riots recounts moments before man's death

Green Bay — Demario Pritchard sits on the other side of the Plexiglass window and grabs the red receiver. It’s his first face-to-face connection with the outside world since the Saturday in mid-August when his friend was shot dead by police.          

He’s in jail in Green Bay, 116 miles away from N. 44th Street in Milwaukee where he was sitting in the car next to Sylville Smith when the police cars came screeching up. 

He is the only known witness who can speak to what Smith was doing shortly before the fatal shooting that sparked several nights of riots in the Sherman Park neighborhood and ramped up long-festering racial friction across Milwaukee.

The state Justice Department has yet to release records from its investigation into the death and the public has not yet had a chance to view video footage from the body cameras worn by police. As a result, Pritchard’s account remains largely uncorroborated. Milwaukee police and other law enforcement officials declined to comment on what happened prior to the shooting, noting the investigation has not been completed.

The way Pritchard tells it, he and Smith weren’t looking for trouble.

The two old friends had spent the afternoon together, hanging out for the first time in several years, Pritchard said. They had grown up playing basketball with each other at the Boys & Girls Club but had drifted apart when Pritchard moved to Green Bay to be close to his brother.

When they saw each other at a mutual friend’s funeral in July, they made plans to get together. So there they were, parked in front of Pritchard’s girlfriend’s parents’ house two blocks from Sherman Park. It was close to 3:30 p.m. Aug. 13. Pritchard said he was just saying goodbye and getting out of the car. He was meeting his girlfriend and they were heading to Wisconsin Dells.

They had no reason to think police were following them or looking for them, Pritchard said. They weren’t causing problems, he said. Sure, they had stopped by a friend’s house "for a little weed" but they weren’t in a stolen car, hadn’t robbed anybody, hadn't seen anything going on around them, he said. Heck, they even had been wearing their seat belts. That’s how much they were trying to steer clear of conflict, he said.

Milwaukee Sherman Park Turmoil - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - jsonline.com

The 23-year-old Smith had had a number of encounters with police, having been arrested nine times, but ending up being convicted of nothing but misdemeanors. Pritchard, 24, had two convictions for possessing cocaine — the second one a felony — and was on probation as a result.

Smith had a gun, Pritchard confirmed. He said that speaks to “just life in Milwaukee,” generally, more than an intent to do wrong. 

“Someone can pull up on you any time,” Pritchard said.

You’ve got to be able to protect yourself, he explained.

As a felon, Pritchard is not allowed to possess a gun. As for Smith, his family maintains he had a concealed carry permit and wasn’t breaking any laws in having the weapon with him. 

Guns aside, Pritchard said, he and his friends typically go out of their way to make sure police have no reason to mess with them. Milwaukee police have a reputation among young men in District 7 for routinely stopping and searching them, he said. The “Jump Out Boys” is what the young men call the officers, or sometimes, the “Hop Out Boys,” referring to how the police jump out of their vehicles to surprise the young men and see what they’re doing.

The term stems from the practice of undercover police who conduct stakeouts from unmarked cars and vans, then jump out on cue to help make busts. 

"I am not familiar with the community referring to our officers by those names," said Sgt. Timothy Gauerke, spokesman for the department. "Officers routinely conduct field interviews when there is reasonable suspicion for a stop."

He also noted: "Officers routinely back each other up while conducting investigations."

Milwaukee police are involved in a federal appeals court case where they were accused of jumping out on a man — long suspected of a high-profile 2007 homicide — and pulling him and others from their car while they were parked outside a liquor store in 2014. Police said they approached the vehicle because it was parked within 15 feet of a crosswalk. The defendant argues the encounter amounted to an unlawful search. One judge likened the practice to stopping people for, “parking while black.” The full 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to hear the case.  

That’s basically what Pritchard says happened the afternoon Smith was killed.

Police cars arrive

A patrol SUV and an unmarked police car pulled up at the same time, boxing them in, within a minute of Smith parking the car in front of the house. Officers jumped out. Smith got out from behind the wheel and ran north. Pritchard went south.

Neither got far.

Smith was quickly trapped by a chain-link fence between two houses.

Pritchard tripped and fell. He was facing the other direction and couldn’t see Smith. But he was close enough to hear, he said.

Four gunshots. That’s the sound that rang through his ears. He said he didn’t hear officers shout at Smith to “drop the gun” or order him to do anything.

Pritchard said he got back up and walked slowly to the middle of the street with his hands in the air, shouting “Don’t shoot!” 

Pritchard was taken into custody that afternoon, arrested for violating probation. He had missed his appointment with his probation and parole agent in Brown County back in February. “His whereabouts and activities remained unknown until his arrest on 8/13/16,” according to records obtained from the state Department of Corrections. 

The Notice of Violation states that Pritchard possessed the painkiller Percocet without a valid prescription and that he had purchased and possessed marijuana that day. It says he had been using and selling drugs since June. It also says he possessed a firearm, an allegation Pritchard denies. Pritchard said officers tried to “pin it” on him and that he sarcastically said, “Fine. If you want it to be mine, it’s mine.” He signed a statement admitting the violations and thus waived his right to a revocation hearing.  He is scheduled to be sentenced to prison Oct. 7. 

State and local law enforcement officials have said they plan to publicly release the video from the body cameras that officers were wearing when Smith was shot soon. Patrick Smith, Sylville Smith’s father, said Thursday the family had not yet seen the video.

In statements released shortly after the shooting, police and Mayor Tom Barrett said Smith was holding a loaded gun and turned toward the officers. 

Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn described the whole encounter as taking 20 to 25 seconds from when the officer unbuckled his seatbelt, chased Smith to the fence and fired.

The autopsy showed Smith was shot once in the chest and once in the right arm. There has been no mention to date of more than those two shots being fired.

Officials said Smith failed to comply with orders to drop the gun. It’s unclear whether the footage, when released, will include audio of what officers said before firing. The audio and video begin recording when the officer hits the button. The prior 30 seconds are also included in the video but don’t contain audio — per the system’s design. It’s unknown when the officer hit the record button.

The Milwaukee Police Department’s use-of-force policy allows officers some discretion on verbal commands, stating: “When feasible, a verbal warning should be given prior to the use of force likely to cause great bodily harm or death.”

Pritchard’s account of what happened helped clear up a question that’s been troubling Smith’s mother, Mildred Haynes.  A muffled voice message Haynes received from Smith's cellphone at 3:22 that afternoon made her wonder if her son had "pocket dialed" her just before the encounter and if she was hearing him surrendering to police before being shot. Smith's voice can be heard saying, “I’m turning around, bro. Slow.” 

Pritchard said that call took place as they were driving, before the police showed up. Smith was turning the car around because he had gone the wrong way to Pritchard’s girlfriend’s parents’ house. He wasn’t talking to police, Pritchard said.

So why did they run when the police showed up?

“Why wouldn’t I run?” Pritchard said. “I’m scared of police. Police been killing a lot of people. I’m not trying to die."