(The Center Square) – A conservative group believes crime numbers and issues in Milwaukee were at least partially caused by a 2018 settlement in a lawsuit against city of Milwaukee involving Democrat and candidate for governor David Crowley.
Crowley was one of eight named plaintiffs in the case involving stop-and-frisk procedures from the Milwaukee Police Department that led to a $3.4 million settlement including $1.5 million paid to the Crime and Justice Institute to oversee the Milwaukee Police Department’s policies and stop-and-frisk reports.
Crowley, then a state representative, had accused the department of racial profiling while he was stopped and frisked along with his god-brother following a nearby shooting.
The lawsuit claimed stop-and-frisk was unconstitutional and the settlement effectively ended the practice in Milwaukee, a shift that Restoration for America’s Josh Pinho said led to a “departure from a proactive policing culture towards a culture of reactive policing that resulted in sharp decreases in suspect and traffic stops in Milwaukee and sharp increases in crime.”
The evidence for that increase was a 59% decrease in “proactive police activities” from 2018 to 2022, according to a Wisconsin Policy Forum report and a traffic stop decrease of 79% from 2017 to 2022.
“Per the agreement, the new policy required every officer to document every single traffic stop, including no-action encounters, and prepare a report for review by CJI,” Pinho said. “This additional contact summary reporting, which must include a written narrative explaining the officer’s legal basis for the stop, was cited in officer interviews as adding approximately 15-30 minutes of additional paperwork per stop.
“Additionally, due to the reporting requirements officers are further expected to review the entire body cam footage from each encounter to ensure there are no errors in their reports, even those that did not result in a ticket or arrest. Errors in reports are tracked by internal affairs for potential discipline.”
Crowley’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment and questions about the net results of the settlement and how it relates to what his policing policies would be for the entire state.
Republican candidate for governor Tom Tiffany responded to The Center Square, stating that his administration intends to hold violent and repeat offenders accountable to keep neighborhoods safe.
“Milwaukee has experienced a devastating increase in violent crime in the years since, and David Crowley’s soft-on-crime policies have only made our communities less safe,” Tiffany told The Center Square. “Crowley has advocated for releasing half of Wisconsin’s prison population while supporting policies that put tablets in the hands of violent inmates, including inmates who have used them to intimidate victims.
“We should not prevent officers from doing their jobs. They should have the training, staffing, resources, and support they need to lawfully stop dangerous individuals, get violent criminals off our streets, and end the revolving door that puts repeat offenders back into our communities. Public safety has to be a priority.”
Crowley approved a contract that led to inmates in Milwaukee County jail having access to tablet devices with two inmates accused of using the tablets to make threats.
The second inmate, Damian Cosme-Torres, was accused to using a jail tablet to contact a victim he is accused of strangling and slamming against a door despite a non-contact order. The action led to a new charge of felony intimidation of a domestic abuse victim against Cosme-Torres.
“This is what failed leadership looks like,” Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Brian Schimming said in a statement. “A domestic abuse victim was allegedly threatened by the man accused of strangling her, using a tablet provided inside David Crowley’s Milwaukee County jail system. Crowley approved this program and approved extending it. Victims should never have to fear that the person accused of abusing them can continue intimidating them from behind bars. David Crowley owes Wisconsin an explanation for how this was allowed to happen and what he is going to do to make sure it does not happen again.”
This post was originally published on The Center Square.