Jay-Z’s social justice group wants a billboard saying ‘Officer Mensah must be held accountable,’ but it was rejected

A billboard that Team Roc had planned to place in Wauwatosa was rejected by Lamar Advertising because it dealt with a potential crime, according to Lamar.(Photo: Submitted)

A social justice group might seek legal action after an advertising company rejected its plans for a billboard saying "Officer Mensah must be held accountable."

Lamar Advertising Co. rejected two proposals by Team ROC rapper and songwriter Jay-Z's social justice organization for billboards that would have brought attention to Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah, who has shot and killed three people in the line of duty in five years.

"Justice forAlvin Cole, Jay Anderson, Antonio Gonzales. They did not deserve to die. Officer Mensah must be held accountable," one of the billboards would have read.

An attorney for Team ROC saidthat the rejection of the proposed billboard is "outright censorship."

"Frankly, for a company that purports to want to protect people's First Amendment rights, this really struck us as censorship on what is a hot-button topic," said attorney Jordan Siev.

Supporters of Alvin Cole wait for his family to return from a meeting with Milwaukee County District John Chisholm on June 11. The DA is investigating Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah, who shot and killed Cole on Feb. 2, at Mayfair Mall. Wauwatosa Police said Cole had a gun and fired a shot during the incident.(Photo: Rick Wood / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Allie McAlpin, communications director for Lamar Advertising Co., said the group is welcome to submit another design.

"The billboard copy from Team Roc was vetted through our usual copy acceptance process and rejected on the basis that we do not post copy concerning potential crimes, unless there has been a judicial determination of guilt," McAlpin said in an email.

The location for the proposed billboard is atInterstate 94 and84th Street, near the Pettit National Ice Center.

Mensah is currentlybeing investigated by the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office for the shooting death of Alvin Cole in February.

The shootings of Antonio Gonzales and Jay Anderson Jr. were previously deemed justified self-defense by the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office.

Team ROC is one of three social justicegroups that took out afull-page advertisement in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on July 2, calling for Mensah'sremoval.

Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah(Photo: Submitted)

Siev said the group contacted Lamar in July to check what billboards were open in the Wauwatosa area.

After Lamar confirmed that it had an open billboard,Team ROC submitted a design.

The first design said"Justice for Alvin Cole, Jay Anderson, Antonio Gonzales. They did not deserve to die. Officer Mensah must be held accountable."

Lamar denied that design, saying it"could have an effect on a future action."

The group submitted another design after that, removing the words "Officer Mensah must be held accountable," and adding the words "Police officers shouldn't murder innocent people."

Lamar also rejected that design, citing the same reason.

The second billboard design from Team ROC.(Photo: Submitted)

Siev sent a letter toLamar this week for improperly censoring Roc Nations speech on a matter of considerable public interest."

"My question is, what is this billboard, if not a quintessential case of a public service message that should be protected by the First Amendment," Siev said.

"Lamar doesn't have to agree with it, and people don't have to agree with it, but this is a matter of great public importance," he added.

Siev said they'll determine whether they need to take legalaction if Lamar doesn't allow the groupto post the billboard design.

A copy acceptance policy from Lamar says "Lamar reserves the right to reject advertising copy for any reason."

That policy also says the company can reject advertising if:

That policy, which was approved in 2016, also says "Lamar Advertising supports the First Amendment right of advertisers to promote legal products and services.

We also advocate the use of our medium for political, editorial, public service and other noncommercial messages."

Lamar didn't respond to a request for an interview.

Evan Casey can be reached at 414-403-4391 or evan.casey@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @ecaseymedia.

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