The Milwaukee Police Department has a history of racism, particularly targeting the
Black community in Milwaukee.
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. 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 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.
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.
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.
Beating of 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.
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.
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". 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.
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. Later in the year, the city's Fire and Police Commission forced the department to rehire the officer. Public outrage forced the commission to change their decision.
Strip searches In March 2012, a number of police officers were investigated for conducting
strip searches in public on people they had arrested. 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. In October 2013, Dollhopf and Kozelek pleaded no contest in exchange for a sentence of fines and community service. In December 2013, Officer Vagnini was sentenced to 26 months in prison. 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, but Chief Deputy District Attorney
Kent Lovern declined to charge her with a crime.
Killing of Dontre Hamilton 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. 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. The district attorney, finding the use of force to be in self-defense, declined to prosecute.
Killing of Sylville Smith Shooting of Jerry Smith Jr 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. In February 2022, Smith, who sued the city of Milwaukee, would be given a $650,000 settlement from the city of Milwaukee following approval from the City Common Council and Mayor.
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. 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. 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 indicated that a federal
civil rights lawsuit is proceeding to trial. On May 4, 2021, the Milwaukee Common would unanimously approve a $750,000 settlement for Brown. In addition, the settlement agreement also required the city of Milwaukee to commit to changes regarding the city police department's standard operating procedures, such as fair and impartial policing, training and career development, personnel investigations and body cameras.
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. On November 10, 2023, a jury would find Mattioli not guilty of first degree reckless homicide. On March 6, 2026, a federal civil rights lawsuit against Mattioli was dismissed by U.S. federal Judge
Brett Ludwig.
Death of Keishon Thomas On February 26, 2022, 23-year-old Keishon Thomas died of a drug overdose at MPD's District 5 station. 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. Krueger would ultimately plead no contest to misconduct in office, for which he received only a 5,000 fine and no jail or probation time. Lopez, however, would plead to guilty this charge. The settlement would then be legally approved on December 17, 2025, with the Thomas family accepting the settlement. == Vehicles ==