MILWAUKEE COUNTY

Milwaukee public safety hearings set for October

Maggie Angst
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Milwaukee residents will have the opportunity to give feedback on potential solutions to the city’s public safety issues during a series of community hearings in October, Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton and Public Safety Committee chair Ald. Bob Donovan announced Tuesday.

The "Public Safety Action Plan," which was released at the end of August, was a product of special meetings, appearances by more than a dozen local and state officials, and hours of testimony on crime and public safety.

The plan, which sparked a city hall protest, calls for dramatic increases in law enforcement personnel, more time behind bars for offenders, so-called boot camps for at-risk youths and re-evaluating the Milwaukee Police Department’s pursuit policy.

At a Common Council meeting earlier this month, protesters criticized the plan and raised concerns over racial relations in Milwaukee.

"We were disgusted. We were disgusted because we couldn't even imagine that those words — some of the things that we saw in those recommendations — would ever even be put on paper," Markasa Tucker, who was chosen by fellow protesters to address the aldermen, said at the meeting.

With the hearings scheduled for next month, community members and protesters will have the opportunity to make sure their voices are heard.

"I think it's important for the community to see we are not going to hide from the traditional problems the city of Milwaukee has had," Hamilton said at the meeting earlier this month. "We want to demonstrate what open and transparent government looks like."

The Public Safety Committee hearings will be:

  • Monday, Oct. 3 at 9 a.m. in Room 301-B at City Hall, 200 E. Wells St. (this special meeting will be to receive testimony from community-based organizations)
  • Saturday, Oct. 8 at 9:30 a.m., Ald. Cavalier Johnson will host at Marshall High School, 4141 N. 64th St.
  • Saturday, Oct. 15 at 9:30 a.m., President Hamilton will host at Obama High School, 5075 N. Sherman Blvd.
  • Saturday, Oct. 22 at 9:30 a.m., Ald. José G. Pérez will host at South Division High School, 1515 W. Lapham Blvd.
  • Saturday, Oct. 29 at 9:30 a.m., Ald. Terry L. Witkowski will host at Pulaski High School, 2500 W. Oklahoma Ave.