Police accountability, reform group brings hope, skepticism
When Mayor Tom Barrett formed a city commission to discuss police reform after civil unrest in Milwaukee, he was criticized for creating yet another group that would do plenty of talking, but not take action.
That commission has now become a working group, and promised to act on past recommendations that have languished. But among its membership — which now includes community leaders in addition to city officials — there is still skepticism that real change will result.
On Wednesday about 50 people gathered remotely as part of the Mayor’s Racial Equity, Justice and Accountability Working Group to get a sense for what’s already happening locally on police accountability and reform and community safety. The meeting included Barrett, protest participants, retired members of the Milwaukee Police Department, the Community Collaborative Commission, the city’s Office of Violence Prevention and acting Police
Chief Michael Brunson.
Reggie Moore, director of the city’s Office of Violence Prevention, said the shift from commission to working group reflects Barrett listening to feedback.
“This space is the first step of the city listening to the community and the feedback of the community,” Moore said, “and instead of creating something new, creating a space that supports alignment and elevates the work and the leadership of the community that has been done and continues to be done.”
The group’s next step is to conduct an inventory of demands and recommendations for community safety and police accountability and reform. Then they’ll assess which are already in place, and which have yet to be implemented.
It’s expected to meet at least twice a month.
By Dec. 15, the group will be able to say what priorities need to be focused on locally. Recommendations have been made locally, including the Blueprint for Peace and the Community Collaborative Committee, and nationally including those from the Eight Can’t Wait campaign that have not been implemented in Milwaukee.
Nate Hamilton, the chair of the city’s Community Collaborative Committee, which solicits feedback on law enforcement policies, said Wednesday’s meeting was a “nice, good sign of collective organizing.”
Hamilton, whose brother Dontre Hamilton was killed by a police officer in Milwaukee’s Red Arrow Park, said he felt confident the group could form a strong action plan by December.
Barrett said he spoke during the meeting, including about the challenges the city faces, but that he also listened.
“It was a very good conversation,” Barrett said. “Much of it was toward my goal of having my administration serve as the hub for a lot of the conversations and a lot of the work that’s going on in the community to enhance racial equity and justice and to bring more accountability to the Police Department.”
He said it’s a recognition that the city has to see meaningful change.
The working group is also getting off the ground as the city searches for a permanent police chief and new FPC executive director.
Brunson said in a statement that one of his goals is to listen to residents and community partners to improve the Police Department.
FPC Executive Director Griselda Aldrete said she and FPC Chairman Nelson Soler discussed at the meeting what the FPC is working on related to police accountability and reform, including its review of the Police Department’s useof-force policy.
The FPC has the authority to hold the police and fire departments accountable and help them become better public servants, she said, adding she hopes that change comes from the working group and that new leaders emerge.
NAACP Milwaukee Branch President Fred Royal, who’d been critical of the previously proposed commission, said Thursday it will take community engagement to change the department.
“Since it’s driven by the mayor, we definitely have the political will to get it done now,” Royal said.