Milwaukee Police Department

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Milwaukee Police Department
Established	1855
Jurisdiction	Municipal
Sworn	2,000
Police boats	5
Helicopters	1
Chief	Edward A. Flynn

The Milwaukee Police Department serves the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Edward Flynn is the current Chief of Police, the MPD has a contingent of about 2,000 sworn officers when at full strength. In recent years the Department has been operating at much less than full strength.^[1]

Contents 1 History 2 Structure 2.1 Police Districts 3 Ranks of the Milwaukee Police Department 4 1917 Bombing 5 Controversies 5.1 Wendy O. Williams 5.2 Lawrencia "Bambi" Bembenek 5.3 Return of victim to Jeffrey Dahmer 5.4 Chicago shootings 5.5 Frank Jude Jr. 5.6 Glenn Kelly 5.7 2007 Murder Investigation Coverup 6 References

[edit] 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 a law 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.

In 1924, Judson W. Minor became MPD's first African American officer and in 1975 Ada Wright became the first female MPD officer. On November 15th, 1996 Arthur Jones became the first African-American Chief, but a lawsuit filed after his term found that Jones discriminated officers based on their race, giving African-American officers promotions before white officers.^[2] The first female to reach captain rank in the Milwaukee Police Department was Nannette Hegerty, who also became the first female Chief of Police in 2004. She retired in November of 2007. ^[3]

[edit] Structure

[edit] Police Districts

The Milwaukee Police Department is divided into seven districts. District One mainly patrols the Downtown area of Milwaukee, and is also home to MPD's headquarters. Districts Two and Six patrol the South Side of Milwaukee. District Three patrols the west side of Milwaukee, and is the base for MPD's Weed and Seed unit. Districts Four and Seven patrol the North side of Milwaukee, and District Five patrols Northeast Milwaukee, near the lakefront.

[edit] Ranks of the Milwaukee Police Department

• Police Officer
• FTO (Field Training Officer)
• Identification Technician
• Detective
• Sergeant
• Identification Supervisor
• Lieutenant of Detectives
• Lieutenant of Police
• Captain
• Deputy Inspector
• Inspector
• Deputy Chief
• Assistant Chief
• Chief of Police

[edit] 1917 Bombing

The most tragic event in the history of the department occurred on November 24, 1917. A bomb was discovered near a church in the old third ward. Two boys brought the bomb to the central police station at Oneida and Broadway and turned it over to police. 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. It was suspected that the bomb had been placed outside the church by anarchists, but the bomber's identity was never discovered.^[4] At the time it was the most fatal singular event in national police history, later surpassed by the September 11th WTC collapse.

[edit] Controversies

Like all departments of its size, the MPD has gained notority over the years for a number of incidents.

[edit] Wendy O. Williams

In January of 1981 Milwaukee police officers arrested and allegedly severely beat Wendy O. Williams, singer of the punk group The Plasmatics, for simulating sex on stage. Charged with battery to an officer and obscene conduct, she was later cleared.

[edit] Lawrencia "Bambi" Bembenek

see Lawrencia Bembenek

[edit] 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. They were named officers of the year by the police union.^{[citation needed]} Balcerzak would go on to be elected president of the Milwaukee Police Association in May 2005.

[edit] 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 Joseph Cardinal Bernardin. When denied entry to a nightclub, Bedoya shot the bouncer at close range in the head and the two fled back to Milwaukee.[1]

[edit] Frank Jude Jr.

In October, 2004, Frank Jude Jr. attended a party being 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 of 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. Some say the sentences were right, other say they are too harsh. The officers' attorneys have said the officers will appeal the sentences.^[5][6]

[edit] Glenn Kelly

On July 7, 2006 at Miller Park, baseball fan Glenn Kelly was allegedly pushed down by two Milwaukee Police Officers, Edward Ciano and Jovan Petkovich, during a brawl outside of an elevator. Kelly was not under detention at that time, but his wife and son were for disorderly conduct and public intoxication. Eventually, the brawl ended when Kelly somehow fell to the ground, cracking his head open. Kelly was briefly unconscious but awoke and refused medical treatment. Later that day he lapsed into unconsciousness and was declared brain dead. He died July 12, 2006 when he was taken off of life support. A deputy district attorney decided not to charge the officers, clearing them of any wrongdoing. Kelly's family then filed notice of a pending lawsuit against the City of Milwaukee. No further details have been released about the lawsuit. ^[7]

[edit] 2007 Murder Investigation Coverup

A complaint filed with the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission in August, 2007 accused three top ranking Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) officers of taking shortcuts in a murder investigation and then stopping other detectives who tried to solve it. The complaint was filed by Milwaukee Police Detective Ricky Burems. It alleges that Deputy Chief Brian O'Keefe, who ran for Chief of Police, Lt. William Jessup and Capt. Timothy Burkee failed to conduct a full investigation into the death of Debra Maniece. In 2001 DNA was found in the blood of Maniece which matched the DNA of Kelvin Strong, already in prison. Police cleared the case, saying Strong was the suspect. However, Detective Burems says a more thorough investigation was needed. The District Attorney said there was not enough evidence to prove Strong committed the murder. Burems, who was trying to investigate the case, claims that Jessup, O'Keefe and Burkee tried to stop him from fully investigating. Burems believes that eventually they had him removed from the investigation. Deputy Chief O'Keefe later removed his name from consideration for the Chief's job citing family reasons.^[8] This case is still under investigation by MPD.^[9]

[edit] References