Wauwatosa police created a list of protesters who were active in the city during 2020
Wauwatosa police made a “protesters involved” list with the names, addresses, vehicle information and photos of people who took to the streets in Wauwatosa in 2020 to call for change.
The document, which was obtained through an open records request, contains the names of nearly 200 people – including local elected officials, attorneys, local activists and a member of the media.
Wauwatosa police sent the list to nearby law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Milwaukee Police Department.
The list, which is heavily redacted, includes the names of prominent Milwaukee area activists Frank Nitty, Vaun Mayes and Khalil Coleman.
Wisconsin state Reps. David Bowen and Jonathan Brostoff, who both attended several protests in Wauwatosa in 2020, are also on the list.
Attorney Kimberley Motley, the attorney for the families of the three people fatally shot by former Wauwatosa police officer Joseph Mensah, is also on the list.
Motley obtained the list recently as she’s continuing a lawsuit against the Wauwatosa Police Department.
Motley said she thinks the list is being used by the department to target people who are “using their constitutional right to peacefully protest.”
“I think it’s another example of their complete abuse of power and them creating essentially this list of people who they’re targeting,” Motley said.
Abby Pavlik, the public information officer for the Wauwatosa Police Department, said the document was “created and maintained” by the Investigative Division of the department.
“It was used as a tool for identifying potential witnesses, victims and suspects who were involved or associated with protesting during 2020,” Pavlik said in an email. “By utilizing this list, it allowed investigators to follow up with those persons identified after the fact, if needed.”
Pavlik also said the list was shared with other law enforcement agencies “as a matter of situational awareness as these protests were occurring across jurisdictional boundaries.”
This isn’t the first example of police surveilling protesters.
According to a CNBC article, drones often flew over Minneapolis and New York in 2020. Facial recognition software was also used, along with some police body cameras, during protests across the nation in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
Brostoff said he wants to learn more about the creation of the list.
“I think it’s incredibly troubling,” Brostoff said about the list.
Brostoff wants to learn more background on what the purpose of the list was and who else might be using it.
“I don’t know how much time they’re using on it, but that’s all taxpayers’ dollars and I have a lot of questions for Wauwatosa,” Brostoff said.
Tomás Clasen, advocacy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin, also issued a statement about the list.
“When the government gathers information about people engaged in constitutionally protected activities such as demonstrating and newsgathering, it is very concerning,” the statement said.
“While we do not know how the government is using the contents of the information, the mere fact that they are collecting it may discourage participation in these protected activities. In effect, this may silence voices calling for change. Moreover, the collection of this information invites police misuse such as harassing and targeting of those on the list,” the statement also said.
Christine Groppi, the daughter of Father James Groppi, who helped lead the 200 nights of Milwaukee’s open housing marches over 50 years ago, is also on the list.
Groppi said she went to several protests in Wauwatosa in 2020.
“It’s just another example of how protesters are being criminalized, targeted, harassed,” Groppi said.
She wasn’t necessarily surprised that she was on the list.
“It’s not illegal to protest. It’s a protected right, a constitutional right,” Groppi added.
Protests in Wauwatosa
Protesters were a common sight in Wauwatosa in 2020.
For weeks and months, protesters packed city meeting rooms. They went to Mayfair, shutting down the mall more than once. They marched throughout the city and Village area.
Protests started in June 2020 after Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer. But months earlier at Mayfair mall, Mensah shot and killed 17year-old Alvin Cole.
Many of the marches were centered on that shooting, as protesters called for the removal of both Mensah and former police chief Barry Weber. Mensah has since resigned and was hired by the Waukesha County Sheriff ’s Department. Weber retired in June.
Police and protesters clashed at times throughout the summer, as the marches intensified.
Wauwatosa police officers could also be seen taking photos of protesters at protest events in 2020.
Mensah was the target of one protest in August when police said he was physically assaulted and a single shotgun round was fired into the house after a group of 50 to 60 people gathered there. The names of Ronald Bell Jr. and William Lofton, who were charged in that incident, are included on the protest list as well.
Isiah Holmes, a journalist with Wisconsin Examiner, was also listed in the document.
Holmes covers the Wauwatosa Police Department and wrote about many of the protests in Wauwatosa in 2020. He was also at many of the protests, taking photos and videos.
Holmes first reported on the list after he made an open records request for it earlier in 2021. Holmes said he was identified as a media member on the list.
“Theoretically, it could’ve been anyone who had contact with protests, which is a First Amendment-protected activity, and they put me on the list because I was on the ground doing my job, which is also a First Amendment-protected activity,” Holmes said.
“How far did this go and for what real purpose,” Holmes asked about the list.