Barrett, Taylor question release of video
Procedure in sex assault case called into question
Mayor Tom Barrett and state Sen. Lena Taylor, a rival of Barrett’s in the upcoming mayoral race, are raising concerns about how the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel obtained a video of an out-ofcustody police interview of a wellknown Milwaukee developer.
They’re also raising questions about the video’s contents.
In a letter to the city’s Fire and Police Commission dated Wednesday, Barrett requested that the commission open a formal review “of recent events that are of concern to me.”
On Dec. 17, the Journal Sentinel reported on the video that shows Fire and Police Commission Chairman Steven DeVougas accompanying corporate client Kalan Haywood Sr. when Haywood was interviewed by a Milwaukee detective investigating an allegation of sexual assault against him.
Haywood denies the allegation and has been neither arrested nor charged. The sexual assault investigation remains under review by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.
The story raised questions of whether DeVougas had violated ethics guidelines by accompanying Haywood while also chairing the commission responsible for oversight of the police department.
Haywood was interviewed at the Sojourner Family Peace Center, which includes a domestic violence shelter. Police are allowed to question only victims there, not suspects, according to Carmen Pitre, president and CEO of Sojourner, who did not know about Haywood’s interview until told by a reporter.
The Milwaukee Police Department has not answered questions from the Journal Sentinel asking if any action was being taken about the apparent break in policy and how many other sexual assault suspects had been interviewed at the Sojourner complex, citing the ongoing investigation.
Barrett listed his concerns in the letter:
❚ Whether the video was released in accordance with department rules, and, if not, who was responsible for the release and how they would be disciplined for breaking the rules.
❚ Whether it was appropriate to interview Haywood at the Sojourner Family Peace Center, and, if not, who made and granted the request. If it was not appropriate, he asked, what is the correct penalty “for the violation of any Police Department rules”?
❚ Whether it was appropriate for DeVougas to be present at the interview, and, if not, what should be done now but also in the future to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
“I hope you share my desire to have these matters resolved as quickly as possible,” Barrett wrote.
Taylor released a statement Thursday
saying city leaders have been slow to question the Police Department’s behavior and to respond to public calls for answers. She also accused Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales of dragging his feet on an investigation, saying that he has said little about what is being done.
She also told the Journal Sentinel it was “unspeakable” that the police department “violated a victims service organization.”
“You have a police department that did not protect the victim nor a victims organization, no statements for a month and a half on it from the department or the FPC or the leaders from the top down at the city,” she said.
It’s clear, she said in the statement, that the video was leaked to further an agenda.
In a statement Thursday, Milwaukee police said the department takes seriously the release of confidential information.
“The department’s silence on a recent incident should not be interpreted as participating in or condoning this behavior,” the department said in the statement. “Once we became aware of a news story involving the release of a video of an out-of-custody interview, the Department immediately began to investigate whether the release came from within MPD. That investigation is ongoing.”
The statement also said the department had met with the Milwaukee City Attorney’s Office and has reiterated to the department’s members its code of conduct regarding confidential materials. The department is looking into ways to prevent similar situations in the future, according to the statement.
At a community meeting on Monday, Morales denied involvement with any leak of the video and said the department was looking into it.
The woman who alleged Haywood sexually assaulted her told police it took her five years to come forward largely out of fear, noting that he “is a man of importance in Milwaukee and is known to associate with high-level political officials including senators and the mayor,” according to a police report obtained by the Journal Sentinel.
Barrett told the Journal Sentinel Thursday evening that he was concerned when he saw the woman’s statement in a Journal Sentinel article in December. He said he takes allegations like this very seriously and wants to see justice done.
“I can assure her that from my standpoint there will be absolutely no political interference with anything that would hamper justice for her or for anyone else,” he said.
Barrett said he had not received a response from the Fire and Police Commission to his letter.
“It’s in the hands of the commissioners to decide what they want to do, but I wanted to make sure they knew what my concerns were,” he said.
Taylor said she couldn’t speak to the specific allegations in this case.
“If I were a person who was afraid to come forward for a long period of time because I thought the person had influence and then I read an article that says he was taken to a special place that (he) should not be taken to ... I can understand legitimately why she would have concerns,” she said.
She said she didn’t have enough information to comment on whether DeVougas violated ethical guidelines.
Haywood contributed $750 to Barrett’s campaign late last year, campaign records show. Taylor’s latest campaign filing does not show a contribution from Haywood.
The Journal Sentinel is using Haywood’s name because he is a high-profile developer, sits on numerous civic boards, has received city funding for real estate projects and has been publicly identified by the Milwaukee Police Association as a suspect in a sexual assault case.
Haywood is the founder and president of the Haywood Group, a real-estate development, investment and consulting firm that got $9 million in city loans last year for a boutique hotel on Milwaukee’s north side.