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Photo credit: Jacob Sili
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Mayor Tom Barrett has released a short statement saying he wouldn’t order a curfew in Milwaukee for the night on Tuesday, June 2. The curfew was first ordered on Saturday, May 30 after violence prior to protests the previous night. Rallies demanding justice for George Floyd, a black man murdered at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, have marched across the city for five nights now. For three of those nights so far, curfew has been enforced by the Milwaukee Police Department.
The first curfew followed Gov. Tony Evers authorization of the Wisconsin National Guard to aid local law enforcement. The National Guard was authorized after a Boost Mobile cellphone store was looted and an MPD officer suffered a gunshot wound in Milwaukee’s Harambee neighborhood on Friday night.
“Last night we saw a notable reduction in illegal activity associated with public protests,” Barrett said. “I am optimistic that reduction will continue this evening.”
Gradually, Milwaukee protests are growing more peaceful albeit cases of minor vandalism cases and some protestors driving on sidewalks at night were present over the weekend. The latest protest ended at 3 a.m. early Tuesday morning after a 10-hour march, where protestors – most on foot, some in cars – walked and drove through Harambee, Bronzeville and the Lower East Side.
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“At this time, I am not ordering a curfew for tonight,” Barrett said. “However, if conditions warrant, I will, on short notice, institute a citywide curfew. I have respect for the thousands of Milwaukee residents who have peacefully demonstrated in recent days, and I hope that all future protests are peaceful.”
A protest that started in Humboldt Park in Bay View this afternoon continues to march on through city.
This afternoon, City Attorney Tearman Spencer said, “We must proceed safely. We’ve seen several demonstrations across the city, most of which have been peaceful. We must continue in that element of good faith and have respect for our neighborhoods and communities.”
