Milwaukee Police Department

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. Jeffrey B. Norman is the current chief of police, serving since December 2020.

History

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 NYPD detective, 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.Maralyn A. Wellauer-Lenius, ''Milwaukee Police Department''. Mt. Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2008, p. 16.

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 Mayor John Black appointed fellow Democrat Daniel Kennedy as chief, and Kennedy promptly fired 25 Republican patrolmen (as part of the spoils system then prevalent).

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.

1917 Bombing

On November 24, 1917, a large black powder bomb,Balousek, Marv, and Kirsch, J. Allen, ''50 Wisconsin Crimes of the Century'', Badger Books Inc. (1997), , , p. 113 wrapped as a package, was discovered by Maude L. Richter, a social worker, next to an evangelical church in the third ward. She dragged the package into the church basement and notified the church janitor, Sam Mazzone.''The Indianapolis Star'', "Bomb Mystery Baffles Police", November 26, 1917 Mazzone brought the bomb to the central police station at Oneida and Broadway and turned it over to police. "Milwaukee Police Department Officer Memorial Page" The station keeper was showing it to the shift commander, Lieutenant Flood, right before a scheduled inspection, when it exploded.

Nine members of the department were killed in the blast, along with a female civilian. 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.

At the time, the bombing was the most fatal single event in national law enforcement history, 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.

1917–1999

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.

In September 1990, the department established a canine unit composed of six German shepherd dogs and six handler officers.

21st century

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.

Chiefs of Police

* Jeffrey B. Norman 2020–Present
* Michael Brunson (acting) – 2020.
* Alfonso Morales – 2018–2020. Morales was demoted to captain.
* Edward A. Flynn – 2008–2018. Flynn's first 2 years were with low crime data, but crime then peaked following 2010. Flynn has also had controversies with some of the comments he has made and by the police union as well in the case of firing officer Chris Manney following the shooting death of Dontre Hamilton. Flynn also assisted the agency with the purchasing of the Smith & Wesson M&P .40 S&W pistols and the Smith & Wesson M&P15 rifles.
* Nannette Hegerty – 2003-2007- First female chief of police, she also handled the firing of 9 officers and disciplining of others in the beating case of Frank Jude Jr. by off duty officers.
* Arthur L. Jones – 1996-2003. Jones was the first African-American Chief of the MPD
* Phillip Arreola – 1989-1996. Arreola assisted the agency in the switch to Glock 22 pistols in the early 1990s.
* Robert Ziarnik – 1984-1989. Retired in 1983 as a Deputy Inspector, but came out of retirement for the position of Police Chief.
* Harold Breier – 1964-1984. Breier, an opponent of the US civil rights movement, faced intense criticism from Milwaukee's African-American communities for his long-held racist views, support for racist policies, and the police killings of several Black individuals.

Controversy

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 plead guilty to reckless homicide and perjury.Gina Barton,
In 25 years, no charges recommended in Milwaukee inquests
, ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'', October 6, 2012. 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.

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 big media play.

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.

Return of victim 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 room. Later that night Dahmer killed and dismembered Sinthasomphone, keeping his skull as a souvenir. Dahmer went on to kill four more people.

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, as well as the chief of police for the town of Trenton, Wisconsin, 30 miles north of Milwaukee.

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.

Frank Jude Jr.

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.

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 killed himself before he could be brought to court.

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.

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". 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. 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. November 27, 2019 court filings indicate that a federal civil rights lawsuit is proceeding to trial.

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.

Vehicles

The Milwaukee Police Department vehicle fleet consists of mixture of Ford Police Interceptor Utilities, Chevrolet Tahoe Police Pursuit Vehicles, Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors and Harley Davidson motorcycles for street patrols. The department also has a fleet of two boats and several support and specialized vehicles.

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.

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.

Weapons

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.

, Milwaukee police officers are armed with the Smith & Wesson M&P .40 S&W, which is the standard issue weapon for the department. It replaced the Glock 22 .40 caliber pistol following issues with the Glock's performance back in 2009.

, 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.

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the Milwaukee Police Department in 1855, 64 officers have died while on duty. The most recent on-duty death occurred on February 6, 2019, as an officer was shot by a suspect during the execution of a search warrant.

See also

* Milwaukee Police Band
* 1981 Milwaukee Police Strike
* List of law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin

References

Further reading

*
*
*Snyder, Ronald H.
Chief for Life: Harold Breier and His Era
" PhD. diss., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2002.

External links

Milwaukee Police Department

{{Authority control

Government agencies established in 1855
1855 establishments in Wisconsin
Municipal police departments of Wisconsin
Police Department