After the Milwaukee Common Council originally rejected the $9.7 million federal COPS grant in December, the council reversed their decision today and voted to accept it with a 9-6 vote. The grant will allow the Milwaukee Police Department to hire 30 more officers.
Alderman Ashanti Hamilton has worked to make sure that the police department will meet the council’s amendment to the grant—seven conditions that the MPD must meet. The conditions, including improving response times, improving reckless driving enforcement, and incorporating a performance-based approach to police staffing, were also proposed on Dec. 15. This time, Hamilton says that Acting Chief Jeffrey Norman has made a commitment to meeting the council’s conditions.
Hamilton said that, this time around, the definitive language in the amendment has been removed. Instead, the amendment’s language incorporates the letter that the MPD has brought to the table. The letter, released by the MPD command staff on Jan. 12, was written in support of the conditions. “It’s a commitment from the department to achieve this, whether he (Norman) continues in that position, or whether there’s a different chief installed,” Hamilton said.
Although the command staff has agreed to enforce Hamilton’s conditions, it is still unknown how the city will continue to pay for the 30 new officers that will be hired with the grant. The money will only cover the costs for three years, and Milwaukee does not currently have the funds to accommodate what comes after.
“The fact that there is no proposal, none, zero, on the table right now for how we intend to pay that full amount in 2023 is disturbing to me, given that the fourth year of this grant will cost us at least $3.5 million,” said Alderwoman Milele Coggs.
Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic also voiced her concern that the city cannot afford the grant in the long run. “I asked our legislative reference bureau how much we spent on police misconduct cases. 35 million dollars. Our system is broken,” she said. Dimitrijevic asked that the council step back and reorganize the police system before accepting the grant. “It feels to me that, if we take this, we’re just reinforcing a system that we know is broken,” she said.
|
|
However, after discussion of budget concerns and the policing system, the council voted to accept the grant. Hamilton, Nikiya Dodd (who originally made the motion to reconsider the grant) and Chantia Lewis changed their votes.
Listen to the Community
“I see a glimmer of hope to some degree, because we have, now, a police department that is willing and able to listen to the community and literally take their needs and wants and desires into account,” Lewis said. “I’m making my vote today with balance in mind and trying to make sure that we can have a safe community, which, for the record, extra cops does not equate to a safer community. What equates to a safer community is the commitment from MPD changing the way that they are approaching policing and making sure that they're doing it with a community lens, so I can see that this (COPS grant) could be beneficial for the city.”
Protests through the streets of Milwaukee led up to the council’s decision today. Omar Flores, co-founder of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, has taken part in the many protests that have asked the council to continue to reject the $10 million. The Milwaukee Alliance has expressed that the money that will be used to fund the 30 new officers should go into directly helping the community with housing, jobs and more. “It’s no coincidence that, at a time where the economy is tanking, there is a spike in crime,” he said. “People need access to opportunities, not more police.”
Is it Doable?
Although the MPD command staff has pledged to meet new conditions, Flores expressed doubt that they will follow through. “There’s no leverage or accountability that the common council has against the police department,” he said. “It’s bad business giving someone money with no collateral or accountability. What bank would give 10 million dollars to a person that has a bad credit history? The cops have never held up their end of the deal.”
Community activists have joined together to ask for a Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC), replacing the Fire and Police Commission with a group of community members. “Without genuine accountability, which the FPC has failed to enforce, there’s no reason to believe that MPD will follow through (with the seven conditions),” Flores said.
Sgt. Efrain Cornejo of the Milwaukee Police Department expressed appreciation for the council’s decision today. “MPD is committed to working with our community and system partners to continue to build sustainable neighborhoods free of crime that are built on positive relationships,” Cornejo said.
