Police District 3 National Night Out

August 2023. A warm spring Thursday. A couple hundred Black residents were enjoying the festivities at Johnson’s Park in the heart of the central city. The event, National Night Out, is hosted by the cops of District 3, and they were everywhere, playing with the kids, chatting with residents, serving food, educating people on law enforcement. The fun included face painting, raffle giveaways and even horseback riding. Nonprofit and business vendors promoting peace occupied colorful tents along the corridor.

Police District 3 includes a large swath of the inner city. With a population of 81,000 residents, this district is diversified and includes mostly Blacks, but also Hispanics and whites. District 3 struggles with a high crime rate, but on this day, the anxious subject of crime was a foreign topic.

Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman once told me, “Citizens need to feel that police are hearing them, that a just process is taking place, that police can be trusted. Police should be role models.”

I walked the grounds, chatting with people. At the 100 Black Men of Milwaukee tent, there were two gentlemen promoting the nonprofit. Joseph Addison, VP of Programs for 100 Black Men, who works for Lockheed Martin in aviation maintenance, told me, “Our number one focus is mentorship for Black youth, teaching education in financial literacy, economic empowerment and etiquette.   

Howard Eddie, an electrical engineer and VP of Development for the 100 Black Men, said, “This National Night Out event is about the police connecting with the residents to build trust and love. We are here to promote our efforts to mentor Black youth.”

Safe & Sound

I moved along, landing at the tent of Safe & Sound where I encountered Just Chris, the gospel rap artist and creator of a Milwaukee Bucks song. He told me, “I’m a community organizer for one of the Safe & Sound districts. Our goal at Safe & Sound is to unite youth, law enforcement and residents together to make it safe for all Milwaukee. I myself mentor a couple kids. I am affiliated with Unity Gospel House of Prayer Church right up the street from here. I’m just doing what God allows me to do. I had a rough childhood until I found out that love is more valuable than cash.” 

Next, I tracked down the head of Police District 3, Captain Raymond Bratchett. He was well cast for the role. At 37, he is tall, fit, handsome, and articulate. He was also born and raised in the central city Black community. For high school, he was bussed to Menomonee Falls where he interacted with mostly white students. He called that experience “a culture shock.” He earned a scholarship to Marquette and graduated from there, and then joined the Milwaukee Police Department.

He said, “We are here at District 3’s National Night Out to unite law enforcement with our residents through games and fun events. We also include vendors who help families and kids. Later this summer, we will have a back to school event. It’s all about spreading positive awareness to help keep the community safe.”

 A few steps away, I ran into Talbert Montgomery, 64, a retired welder, who told me he had been a resident in this neighborhood for 60 years. “I came to Milwaukee when I was five years old after my mama passed,” he said. “My aunt came and got us. I went to Washington High School but never graduated. Got my GED from Job Corps and trained as a welder. I’m glad to be here and see the police doing something for the community for a change. Our neighborhoods need help, people driving fast all the time, running red lights. I am afraid to cross the streets. I’d like to see more cops on the streets, what they used to call beat cops.”

Meeting Constituents

I wandered on and came across two large tables, each connected to a long line of kids waiting in line to have the artists paint their faces. A little girl tugged at my sleeve, asked if I would get my face painted. I told her that nothing could improve my face. 

In the distance, I noticed Alderman Russell Stamper, chatting up his constituents. A lifelong Sherman Park resident, he has represented District 15 for eight years. When I managed to steal a few minutes of his time, he said, “My district includes a majority of the inner city. This kind of event, the police interacting with residents, can help make my district flourish. I’m out here to celebrate my people. If you look around, you will see a lot of happy families and kids. They get to see the police as human.”

I mentioned that I had followed Police Chief Norman’s career. Alderman Stamper said, “I love Chief Norman’s approach, putting the community first. I got to know him when he was captain of my district. He always followed the rules, always put his police officers first.” 

We were interrupted by an older woman delivering a plate of fried chicken to Alderman Stamper. He introduced her as one of his block captains and also his godmother. 

That was my cue to depart, and, as luck would have it, I soon ran into Chief Norman surrounded by attention seekers. He did take a moment to tell me, “I’m here to engage the community.  I try to participate in community events as much as possible. When I took over as police chief three years ago, I promised to get the police more involved with the residents.”

Not long after, Mayor Cavalier Johnson came up and shook my hand. We chatted briefly. “I’m here to support this event,” the mayor said. “I grew up in the 15th district, lived on 20th and Wright. Us kids used to go sledding in this park. I remember one year when it was near Halloween. My uncle was dressed up like the movie bad guy, Freddy Kruger, and he had the mannerisms down, really scared me, and I bolted. This is a great event that brings out the entire community, people from the district coming together to celebrate with law enforcement.” 

Not long ago, Black activist Tracey Dent told me: “I am a board member on CrimeStoppers. We want to get people to speak up, speak out and take action on criminal activities. If you see something, say something. We’ve been trying to work with the police department.” 

The Black activist, Vaun Mayes, a lifelong resident of the Sherman Park neighborhood in District 3, said, “In the Black community, we often question why there is so much violence, but the solution is right in our mirrors, what we are doing in our own neighborhoods. How can we make positive change? Hit the block where you live and get your neighbors organized. If we don’t reduce the violence, it ain’t gonna get done.”

When one of the police officers asked if I’d like to ride a horse, I declined, and left the event with a wide smile.