Milwaukee police seek to join ‘The First 48’
Common Council must OK being part of show
The Milwaukee Police Department is seeking the Common Council’s approval to participate in a long-running documentary television series about homicide investigations.
On Thursday, police officials are scheduled to appear before the city’s Public Safety and Health Committee about being featured on the A&E series “The First 48,” which documents homicide investigators collecting evidence and working with victims’ families in cities across the U.S., with a focus on the first 48 hours of an investigation.
The proposal is likely to remind some of the infamous 2017 BBC documentary “Dark States: Murder in Milwaukee,” which upset local officials and residents for its negative portrayal of the city and its close-up footage of two homicide victims.
But in an interview Tuesday, Nick DeSiato, the chief of staff for Acting Chief Jeffrey Norman, said he’s confident the A&E docu-series presents an opportunity to improve police-community relations in Milwaukee.
The show, which premiered in 2004, has produced over 400 episodes. It has featured police in 25 cities and counties, some over the course of several years, including Philadelphia, Miami, Minneapolis, Detroit and Cleveland, according to its website.
It’s unclear how long production in Milwaukee would last. DeSiato indicated the department could make multiple appearances on the show over several years. He said producers first approached the department about being featured on the show about a year ago.
DeSiato said the department vetted the show with several other participating police departments, but the show has had moments of controversy. In 2016, the City of New Orleans announced it would end its partnership with A&E after the show was accused of “complicating” a triple murder case, according to The Times-Picayune.
Nevertheless, with over 400 episodes, DeSiato said the long-running show offers a proven body of work that the one-off BBC documentary lacked.
And its commitment to examining only cases with the participation of victims’ families will allow viewers to see the impact homicides have on the community and encourage witness participation in the criminal justice system, he said.
After four years of decline, homicides in Milwaukee spiked to an all-time high of 190 in 2020 — a 95% increase from the year before and a 14% increase over its previous record, set in 1991.
Investigators hadn’t been able to determine the primary motive behind about 34% of homicides in 2020, an increase from 30% in 2019, according to the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission. Clearance rates had also dipped to around 50% by year’s end, when in recent years that number has rested between 75% and 78%.
Constance Kostelac, director of the Homicide Review Commission, said last December that could partially be explained by a lack of cooperation from witnesses and others involved. Solving homicides and shootings has been linked with peoples’ willingness to engage with the criminal justice system.
DeSiato said the department feels the show could encourage more participation from the public in homicide and shooting investigations.
“We hope that when people see it and see specifically the Milwaukee Police Department — the professionalism, the dedication, of investigating homicides — that it will only serve to increase future participation,” he said.
In 2017, after “Dark States: Murder in Milwaukee” aired on BBC2, local officials expressed shock at the level of access granted to the film crew at crime scenes. Close-ups were given to two homicide victims and someone injured in a crash.
The documentary also showed interviews with residents who carry guns for protection but did not use footage of residents who have created community programs meant to keep children safe and mediate disputes.
Ald. Khalif Rainey called the documentary “pretty horrific” and Edward Flynn, the police chief at the time, said he was lied to about the film’s purpose. Flynn also said his department did nothing wrong and followed its policies for media ride-alongs.
DeSiato said the department technically does not need the approval of Common Council to be featured on the show, but it is voluntarily seeking it this time.
“We thought it was important to provide them with this resolution on the front end,” he said. “We’re going to be upfront with everybody, we’re going to talk about what our thought process is.”