The Milwaukee Police Department is the police department organized under the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The department has a contingent of about 1,800 sworn officers when at full strength and is divided into seven districts.[1] Jeffrey B. Norman is the current chief of police, serving since December 2020.
MPD was founded in 1855. At the time, Milwaukee had an extremely high crime rate, fueled by local gangs, mobs, thieves and robbers. Milwaukee was originally served by the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, which became increasingly unable to provide adequate enforcement to the growing city. With burgeoning crime rates, citizens enacted an ordinance creating the Milwaukee Police Department.
Milwaukee's first chief of police was William Beck, a former NYPDdetective, and its first policemen were Fred Keppler, John Hardy, George Fische, James Rice, L.G. Ryan and David Coughlin. As the department expanded, patrolmen were supplemented by "roundsmen", who would lead the patrolmen out to their beats at the beginning of the evening shift, and supervise them during the shift. A roundsman earned $5 more a month than a patrol officer.[2]
The office of police chief, like the department in general, was subject to political forces for most of its history; for example, in 1878 new MayorJohn Black appointed fellow Democrat Daniel Kennedy as chief, and Kennedy promptly fired 25 Republican patrolmen (as part of the spoils system then prevalent).[3]
John Schrank in Milwaukee Police Custody October 1912
Milwaukee Police Department bombing November 24, 1917
In 1924, Judson W. Minor became the department's first African-American officer and in 1975 Ada Wright became the first female MPD officer. On November 15, 1996, Arthur Jones became the first African-American chief. A lawsuit filed after his term found that Jones discriminated against officers based on their race, giving African-American officers promotions before European-American officers.[4][failed verification]
On November 24, 1917, a large black powder bomb,[5] wrapped as a package, was discovered by Maude L. Richter, a social worker, next to an evangelical church in the third ward.[6] She dragged the package into the church basement and notified the church janitor, Sam Mazzone.[7] Mazzone brought the bomb to the central police station at Oneida and Broadway and turned it over to police.[5][8] The station keeper was showing it to the shift commander, Lieutenant Flood, right before a scheduled inspection, when it exploded.[7]
Nine members of the department were killed in the blast, along with a female civilian.[5][8] It was suspected at the time that the bomb had been placed outside the church by anarchists, particularly the Galleanist faction led by adherents of Luigi Galleani. At the time, the bomber's identity was not uncovered. Many years later, interviews with surviving Galleanist members revealed that Croatian national Mario Buda, chief bombmaker for the Galleanists, may have constructed the Milwaukee bomb.[8][9][10][11][12]
At the time, the bombing was the most fatal single event in national law enforcement history,[13] only surpassed later by the September 11 attacks on September 11, 2001, when 72 law enforcement officers representing eight different agencies were killed. Those responsible for the 1917 bombing never were apprehended, but days later, eleven alleged Italian anarchists went to trial on unrelated charges involving a fracas that had occurred two months before. The specter of the larger, uncharged crime of the bombing haunted the proceedings and assured convictions of all eleven. In 1918 Clarence Darrow led an appeal that gained freedom for most of the convicted.[14]
Police Administration Building- Headquarters of the Milwaukee Police Department
1917–1999
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According to an investigation by the federal Department of Justice, in the second half of the 1970s, 22 people died while in the custody of the Milwaukee police.[15]
In September 1990, the department established a canine unit composed of six German shepherd dogs and six handler officers.[16]
21st century
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2020)
The first female captain in the Milwaukee Police Department was Nannette Hegerty, who also became the first female chief of police in 2004. She retired in November 2007.[17]
The Milwaukee Police Department has a history of racism, particularly targeting the Black community in Milwaukee.[15][18][19][20][21]
Killing of Daniel Bell
In 1958, Officer Thomas Grady shot Daniel Bell in the back, killing him. Investigations at the time cleared Grady of any wrongdoing. In 1978, Grady's partner indicated that the officer had planted a knife on Bell's body to falsely indicate he had been armed. Grady pleaded guilty to reckless homicide and perjury.[22] Milwaukee city officials, unwilling to pay the sum awarded to the Bell family, appealed and repeatedly refused the family's offers to settle for smaller sums. In September 1984, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago awarded $1.6 million, twice the amount the family had offered to settle for earlier.[23]
Lawrencia "Bambi" Bembenek
On May 28, 1981, police officer Lawrencia Bembenek murdered her husband's ex-wife. Her conviction, escape, and subsequent court proceedings received substantial media attention.
Killing of Ernest Lacy
On July 9, 1981, 22-year-old Ernest Lacy died after an officer put his knee on lacy's back or neck, causing him to die from lack of oxygen a short time later. Afterwards, one officer was fired and the four were suspended.[24]
Return of Konerak Sinthasomphone to Jeffrey Dahmer
In the early morning hours of May 27, 1991, 14-year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone (the younger brother of a boy Dahmer had molested) was discovered on the street, wandering nude. Reports of the boy's injuries varied. Jeffrey Dahmer, who had drugged and raped the boy, told police that they had an argument while drinking, and that Sinthasomphone was his 19-year-old lover. Against the teenager's protests, police turned him over to Dahmer. The officers later reported smelling a strange odor, which was eventually found to be bodies in the back of his house. Later that night Dahmer killed and dismembered Sinthasomphone, keeping his skull as a souvenir. Dahmer went on to kill four more people.[25]
John Balcerzak and Joseph Gabrish, the two police officers who returned Sinthasomphone to Dahmer, were fired from the Milwaukee Police Department after their actions were widely publicized, including an audiotape of the officers making homophobic statements to their dispatcher and laughing about having reunited the "lovers." The two officers appealed their termination, and were reinstated with back pay. Balcerzak would go on to be elected president of the Milwaukee Police Association in May 2005. Gabrish went on to be captain of the Grafton Police Department before retiring in 2019,[26] as well as the chief of police for the town of Trenton, Wisconsin, 30 miles north of Milwaukee.[27][28]
Chicago shootings
In 1994, two Milwaukee police officers, Gabriel Bedoya and John Koch, went on a shooting spree in the city of Chicago. They fired shots at random into buildings on the Gold Coast of Chicago, including the residence of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin. When denied entry to a nightclub, Bedoya shot the bouncer at close range in the head, killing him, and the two fled back to Milwaukee.[29]
In October 2004, Frank Jude Jr. attended a party held by police officer Andrew Spengler. Following allegations that Jude had taken an officer's badge, at least three officers confronted and beat Jude outside of Spengler's home. Officers Daniel Masarik, Andrew Spengler and Jon Bartlett were arrested and charged with the beating. All three were later fired from the Milwaukee Police Department, as were several other involved officers. The officers disciplined were both on- and off-duty the night of the beating.
Masarik, Spengler and Bartlett were later found not guilty in state court. In July 2007, these three officers and another officer, Ryan Packard, went on trial in federal court on charges of violating the civil rights of Frank Jude Jr. and his friend, Levelle Harris. Spengler, Masarik and Bartlett were found guilty; Packard was found not guilty. The officers were sentenced on November 29, 2007. Bartlett received 17 years, Masarik and Spengler both received 15 years.
The officers' attorneys have said the officers will appeal the sentences.[30][31]
Shooting of Alfonzo Glover
In March 2005, press reports recount that Officer Alfonzo Glover shot Wilbert Prado eight times, killing him, after an off-duty traffic altercation. Charges were filed on Officer Glover, but he committed suicide before he could be brought to court.[22]
Ladmarald Cates
Officer Ladmarald Cates was convicted in January 2012 of the 2010 rape of a 19-year-old mother and was sentenced to 24 years in prison.[32]
Death of Derek Williams
On July 6, 2011, 22-year-old Derek Williams died in the back of a squad car after he complained that he couldn't breathe. As he complained about his breathing, one officer accused Williams of "playing games".[33] A total of 11 officers heard Williams complaints and ignored them. All of the officers that were involved were cleared of any wrongdoing and Williams' family received $2 million in a lawsuit.[34][35][33]
Accidental shooting
In November 2011, Officer Michael Edwards was in a shopping mall food court when his handgun accidentally discharged, causing a piece of debris to injure a bystander. Edwards contacted mall security immediately and was cooperative with the investigation. Greendale Police, who investigated the incident, noted that it was a freak accident. Edwards pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct.[36][37][38]
Beating of handcuffed suspects
In May 2012, Officer Richard Schoen, a veteran of nine years' service was fired when footage from his car's camera showed him beating a woman handcuffed in the back of his car.[39]
Later in the year, the city's Fire and Police Commission forced the department to rehire the officer.[40] Public outrage forced the commission to change their decision.[41]
Strip searches
In March 2012, a number of police officers were investigated for conducting strip searches in public on people they had arrested.[42][43] In October 2012, Officer Michael Vagnini was charged with 25 counts of sexual assault and other crimes, Officer Jeffrey Dollhop was accused two counts of official misconduct and one count each of conducting an illegal strip search and an illegal cavity search, and two other officers, Jacob Knight and Brian Kozelek, each faced a single count of official misconduct.[44] In October 2013, Dollhopf and Kozelek pleaded no contest in exchange for a sentence of fines and community service.[45] In December 2013, Officer Vagnini was sentenced to 26 months in prison.[46]
Six officers were investigated for obstructing the inquiry into these illegal strip searches. To prevent collusion by the officers, the court issued an order preventing discussion of the strip searches. In 2012, five officers were suspected of violating this court order soon after they were subpoenaed to testify at a secret fact-finding hearing. Despite video and document proof of having broken laws and violating department policies, these officers did not face criminal charges or departmental disciplining. Officer Stephanie Seitz was investigated for perjury,[47][48] but Chief Deputy District Attorney Kent Lovern declined to charge her with a crime.[49]
On April 30, 2014, a police officer, Christopher Manney, fatally shot and killed Dontre Hamilton, a 31-year-old African-American man who had been resting in downtown Milwaukee's Red Arrow Park. Police say Hamilton was shot 14 times after he struggled with an officer, took the officer's baton, and hit the officer in the head. Witness accounts differ, and some stated they never saw Dontre strike Manney with the baton.[50]
When Manney responded to the scene he was unaware that two Milwaukee police officers had twice responded to a call from one of the park's Starbucks employees and had performed a wellness check on Hamilton. During MPD's investigation following the incident, the department learned that Hamilton was a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic.
Police Chief Edward Flynn fired Manney in October, saying he had violated department policy regarding a pat-down. Manney tried to rejoin the Milwaukee Police Department, but his appeal was unanimously denied by the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission members in March 2015, and his firing was upheld.[51] The district attorney, finding the use of force to be in self-defense, declined to prosecute.[52]
On August 31, 2017, 19-year-old Jerry Smith Jr was shot & wounded by two officers on the rooftop of an apartment building near 29th and Wisconsin Avenue. Officers Adam Stahl and Melvin Finkley had responded to a call of man with a gun at the building. Smith fled officers as they approached to talk to him. One of the officers thought he saw a gun-shaped object in Smith's pants, and that Smith was trying to secure it as he ran. Smith stated that he was trying to surrender. While Smith was getting on the ground, Stahl and Finkley shot smith at close range three times. No weapon was found near Smith. The wounds caused partial paralysis in his right leg.[53][54]
Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown
On January 26, 2018, Sterling Brown was tased and arrested inappropriately according to the Milwaukee Police Department Police Chief Alfonso Morales the following May.[55] Brown brought suit in June 2018 after the May release of bodycam footage and alleges racial profiling occurred in the administration of a parking ticket at a Walgreens parking lot. In October 2019, Brown rejected a $400,000 settlement offer.[56] Brown has expressed that he has rejected the offer in part due to his ability and sense of responsibility to use his platform as an NBA player to raise awareness.[57] November 27, 2019, court filings indicate that a federal civil rights lawsuit is proceeding to trial.[58]
Killing of Joel Acevedo
25-year-old Joel Acevedo died on April 25, 2020, six days after being put in a choke hold for 11 minutes and 20 seconds by off-duty officer Michael Mattioli while at a party at Mattioli's home. Mattioli was later arrested and charged with first degree reckless homicide.[59][60]
Death of Keishon Thomas
On February 26, 2022, 23-year-old Keishon Thomas died of a drug overdose at MPD's District 5 station.[61]
The following year, two officers were charged in connection to Thomas's death . Officer Kreuger was reported to have failed to call for an ambulance, while Officer Lopez is reported to have failed to check Thomas in his cell & lied on his check logbook. [62][63]
Vehicles
A Milwaukee Police Department Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor
In 2019, CBS 58 found 379 of the 800 vehicles in the Milwaukee Police Department have more than 100,000 miles, five had over 200,000.[64]
The current colors of MPD vehicles are black and white with "MILWAUKEE POLICE" and the department's badge emblazoned on both sides. In 2021, the department has introduced all black colored squads as they transition to the solid color moving forward.[65]
Weapons
In 2023, MPD transitioned back to Glock (G45 9mm) pistols due to accidental discharges of their P320 pistols while holstered.
In 2019, the MPD transitioned to the SIG Sauer P320 in 9mm following issues which involved frames cracking on the M&P40 pistols used by MPD. The holster chosen for the P320 pistols is made by Safariland, a company known for making various holsters and accessories.[66]
As of 2018[update], Milwaukee police officers are armed with the Smith & Wesson M&P.40 S&W, which is the standard issue weapon for the department.[67] It replaced the Glock 22 .40 caliber pistol following issues with the Glock's performance back in 2009.[68]
As of 2009[update], the standard-issue patrol rifle is the Smith & Wesson M&P15; it was first purchased when the agency went to the M&P .40 sidearm.[68]
Fallen officers
Since the establishment of the Milwaukee Police Department in 1855, 67 officers have died while on duty.[69] The most recent officer related death occurred on December 6, 2023, as an officer was killed in a off-duty motor vehicle accident. The most recent on-duty death was on February 7, 2023, where an officer was shot and killed while attempting to place an armed robbery suspect into custody. [70]
Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer, also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal or the Milwaukee Monster, was an American serial killer and sex offender who killed and dismembered seventeen men and boys between 1978 and 1991. Many of his later murders involved necrophilia, cannibalism, and the permanent preservation of body parts—typically all or part of the skeleton.
Christopher J. Scarver Sr. is an American convicted murderer. He is best known for the 1994 murders of his fellow inmates Jeffrey Dahmer and Jesse Anderson, both convicted murderers, at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Wisconsin. The three inmates were on a work detail together in the prison gymnasium, and had a confrontation while unsupervised. Scarver had concealed a metal bar that he used to beat and fatally injure Dahmer and Anderson. Scarver was convicted and sentenced to two further life sentences for these murders. He had already been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of the murder of Steve Lohman in 1990.
Lawrencia Ann "Bambi" Bembenek, known as Laurie Bembenek, was an American security officer at Marquette University when she was arrested on charges of first-degree murder of Christine Schultz in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on May 28, 1981. Bembenek was convicted and sentenced in 1982 to life in prison.
The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC), more commonly known locally as the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and, colloquially, DC Police, is the primary law enforcement agency for the District of Columbia, in the United States. With approximately 3,400 officers and 600 civilian staff, it is the sixth-largest municipal police department in the United States. The department serves an area of 68 square miles (180 km2) and a population of over 700,000 people. Established on August 6, 1861, the MPD is one of the oldest police departments in the United States. The MPD headquarters was formerly located at the Henry J. Daly Building, located at 300 Indiana Avenue NW in Judiciary Square across the street from the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, however in 2023 MPD moved into One Judiciary Square located at 441 4th St NW while the Daly Building undergoes extensive renovation and refurbishment. The department's mission is to "safeguard the District of Columbia and protect its residents and visitors with the highest regard for the sanctity of human life". The MPD's regulations are compiled in title 5, chapter 1 of the District of Columbia Code.
John A. Balcerzak is an American former police officer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Frank Jude Jr., a.k.a. Frankie Lee Jude Jr., is a Wisconsin man who was severely beaten and tortured by off-duty Milwaukee police officers in the early-morning hours of October 24, 2004. The police had erroneously accused him of stealing a police badge, and screamed racial slurs at him during the attack. They also had beaten Jude's friend, Lovell Harris, but Harris was able to escape the attack.
The Miami Police Department (MPD), also known as the City of Miami Police Department, is a full-service municipal law enforcement agency serving Miami, Florida, United States. MPD is the largest municipal police department in Florida. MPD officers are distinguishable from their Miami-Dade Police Department counterparts by their blue uniforms and blue-and-white patrol vehicles.
Edward Michael McCann is an American attorney and politician who served as district attorney of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin from 1969 to 2007. A Democrat, McCann gained recognition for the length of his tenure and his successful record as a trial attorney.
The Memphis Police Department is a law enforcement agency in Memphis, Tennessee in the United States.
Casimir Pulaski High School is a public high school located on 2500 W Oklahoma Ave in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Casimir Pulaski is part of the Milwaukee Public School system. The school had 1600 students during the 2004–2005 school year.
The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) is the primary law enforcement agency in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is also the largest police department in Minnesota. Formed in 1867, it is the second-oldest police department in Minnesota, after the Saint Paul Police Department that formed in 1854. A short-lived Board of Police Commissioners existed from 1887 to 1890.
Edward A. Flynn is an American law enforcement executive. From 2008 until 2018, Flynn served as chief of the Milwaukee Police Department. Prior to assuming that position, he served as secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security and as police commissioner in Springfield, Massachusetts. Flynn was reappointed twice to the position of Milwaukee police chief before retiring in early 2018.
Robert James Parins was an American lawyer, judge, and National Football League executive. He was president of the Green Bay Packers from 1982 to 1989, and served in various other leadership roles in the Packers organization. He previously served 14 years as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Brown County (1968–1982) and served two years as district attorney (1949–1951). Later in life, acting as a reserve judge, he played a notable role in a case related to the American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
Ian Wallach is an American lawyer and founding partner of the Law Offices of Ian Wallach, P.C. He is a legal news commentator who has appeared on regional, national, and international television and radio shows speaking on current legal issues.
On April 30, 2014, Dontre Hamilton was shot and killed by police officer Christopher Manney, at Red Arrow Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. No charges were brought, but Manney was fired from the force. As a result of the shooting and subsequent protests, Milwaukee police officers were equipped with body cameras.
Nannette "Nan" Hegerty is an American former police officer who served as the chief of the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) from 2003 to 2007. She also served as U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Wisconsin from 1994 to 2002.
On August 13, 2016, a riot began in the Sherman Park neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, sparked by the fatal police shooting of 23-year-old Sylville Smith. During the three-day turmoil, several people, including police officers, were injured and dozens of protesters arrested. A nightly curfew was set up for teenagers in the area.
On August 23, 2020, Jacob S. Blake, a 29-year-old black man, was shot and seriously injured by police officer Rusten Sheskey in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Sheskey shot Blake in the back four times and the side three times after Blake opened the driver's door of an SUV belonging to the mother of his children, and attempted to reach inside. Sheskey said that he believed he was about to be stabbed, since Blake was holding a knife. Earlier during the encounter, Blake had been tasered by two officers, but the tasers failed to disable him and he continued toward the vehicle.
Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is the first season of the American biographical crime drama anthology television series Monster, created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan for Netflix, which was released on September 21, 2022. Murphy and Brennan both serve as showrunners. Dahmer is about the life of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Other main characters include Dahmer's father, Lionel, his stepmother Shari, suspicious neighbor Glenda, and grandmother Catherine.
On November 21, 2021, Darrell Edward Brooks Jr. drove a sport utility vehicle (SUV) through the annual Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, United States, killing six people and injuring 62 others.
1 2 The Indianapolis Star, "Bomb Mystery Baffles Police", November 26, 1917
1 2 3 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 20, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "Milwaukee Police Department Officer Memorial Page"
↑ Watson, Bruce, Sacco and Vanzetti: The Men, the Murders, and the Judgment of Mankind, Viking Press (2007), ISBN978-0-670-06353-6, p. 15
↑ Avrich, Paul, Sacco and Vanzetti: The Anarchist Background, Princeton: Princeton University Press (1991)
↑ Avrich, Paul, Anarchist Voices: An Oral History of Anarchism in America, Princeton: Princeton University Press (1996)
↑ Strang, Dean A. Worse than the Devil: Anarchists, Clarence Darrow, and Justice in a Time of Terror, Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press (2012).
↑ "Canine Unit (K9 Unit)". Milwaukee Police Historical Society. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved August 1, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "Milwaukee Police Department History Page"
↑ White, Sylvia Bell, and Jody LePage. Sister: An African American Life in Search of Justice, Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press (2013).
↑ Federal jury finds fired police officer guilty in assault case Officer had responded to victim's 911 call, by Gina Barton, Journal-Sentinel, January 11, 2012
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