It’s been more than a year since the city of Milwaukee agreed to a settlement with the ACLU of Wisconsin over Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) practices of stopping people of color without cause. While the department has made significant steps in meeting the terms of the agreement, there are areas where MPD is falling short.
That’s according to a new report released on Monday by the person assigned to monitor the progress. The lawsuit was over accusations of people of color being stopped unjustly by police. Some deem it Milwaukee’s version of “stop-and-frisk.”
Larry Dupuis, the legal director of the ACLU of Wisconsin, says there are issues with data collection and with reviewing stops with officers.
“Supervisors are supposed to review stops. And in fact, if there are indications that the stops were not justified, they're supposed to go over those with the officers beneath them,” he explains. “That's one of the areas where there's some delay or deficiency in the city's efforts.”
Dupuis doesn’t believe the shortfalls are because the department doesn't want to comply.
He says that the city has to put money behind the efforts.
“If the promise of the settlement is to be achieved that the city back up that promise with some resources and people to get this done,” Dupuis says.
READ: Stop-And-Frisk Settlement Requires Significant MPD Reforms
MPD released a statement saying that in the first year of the agreement, it has trained nearly 1,800 members on the requirements of the agreement and improved its oversight mechanisms. The department also says its Internal Affairs Division investigators have been trained on procedures for complaints, and it has worked with the Fire and Police Commission to update each of the standard operating procedures itemized in the agreement.
