On a summer night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the life of a 31-year-old Black / African American man, Harry Dixson, was tragically cut short. On June 20, 2022, what began as a dispute outside the Casablanca restaurant on Brady Street escalated into a fatal shooting. The incident unfolded in the early morning hours, leaving family, friends, and the community mourning a man they described as a role model and a pillar of his community.
Dixson was a man with aspirations to give back.
At the time of his death, he was in the process of establishing a non-profit organization called "300 Suits," with the goal of assisting formerly incarcerated men in preparing for job interviews. His family remembered him as a brother and an uncle who lived by the motto, "Make the reason you wake up be the reason that you smile today." In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, loved ones gathered outside the restaurant, holding a balloon release to honor his memory.
Milwaukee police responded to the scene and began an investigation into the shooting. It was reported that a 34-year-old man had been taken into custody in connection with the incident. This individual was later identified as a security guard for the Casablanca restaurant. According to a police investigative report that surfaced later, the security guard told authorities that Dixson had drawn a gun and pointed it at him during their argument in the doorway of the establishment.
In response to what he perceived as a direct threat to his life, the security guard drew his own weapon and fired approximately three shots. The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office reviewed the case and the evidence presented by the police. Ultimately, prosecutors declined to file any charges against the security guard. The shooting was ruled to be an act of self-defense, and no arrests were made in the death of Harry Dixson.
