Milwaukee OKs deal in police suit

MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee agreed Tuesday to pay $3.4 million to settle a lawsuit alleging its Police Department spent years targeting black and Hispanic residents without probable cause with its stop-and-frisk policy.

The Milwaukee Common Council approved the settlement and Mayor Tom Barrett was expected to sign it immediately.

“Ultimately we hope that these type of situations cease and desist,” said Alderman Khalif Rainey.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin sued the department last year on behalf of a half-dozen people who claimed they were stopped once or multiple times since 2010. The ACLU found that Milwaukee police officers made more than 350,000 traffic and pedestrian stops from 2010 to 2017 for which they have no record explaining probable cause for the interaction.

The rate at which black residents were detained for traffic or pedestrian stops was more than six times higher than whites, according to the ACLU’s analysis.

The ACLU has challenged similar police initiatives in Boston and Chicago over racial-profiling concerns. New York halted its stop-and-frisk policy in 2014 after a federal judge ruled it unconstitutional.

Milwaukee did not admit to any wrongdoing as part of the settlement, but Alderman Michael Murphy said resolving the case now would spare taxpayers millions of dollars more to continue the litigation. He said he hopes the settlement “improves community relations, especially with people of color.”

The settlement calls for the department to document every time they stop and frisk someone and explain the reason why. They’ll also have to collect demographic information on the stops. Officers will also receive training, monitoring, and supervision on racial profiling.

The $3.4 million includes $1.5 million for an independent consultant to monitor the department’s progress in identifying unlawful stops and disciplining officers for racial profiling. The rest of the settlement money, $1.9 million, will go to attorneys’ fees and the residents who brought the suit.

According to the ACLU’s lawsuit, Milwaukee police began conducting more pedestrian and traffic stops in 2008 under the directive of thenChief Edward Flynn, who retired in February. While Flynn denied his department had a stop-and-frisk program, he maintained that traffic stops in “high crime areas” reduced crime.