Milwaukee police booked activist Vaun Mayes into jail despite coronavirus policies to do that only with violent offenders

The arrest of community activist Vaun Mayes Monday was "totally, absolutely, 100% inappropriate," his attorney said Wednesday.

Mayes, picked up Monday by Milwaukee police officers during a traffic stop, was released from jail Tuesday afternoon after prosecutors decided to set aside the case for further review.

Attorney Robert LeBell said police "scooped" Mayes without a warrant and tried to get him to provide information about the unrest last week outside a Washington Park home, but Mayes did not give any statements.

Mayes was booked into jail on suspicion of burglary, party to a crime and criminal trespassing, according to arrest logs.

On Tuesday, the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office decided to "pend" the case until the investigation is complete.

When LeBell heard about the arrest Monday, he tried to get answers from police detectives. At first, he was told Mayes was being booked on the trespassing charge, a misdemeanor. He'd be fingerprinted and released within hours, police officials told LeBell.

Then, police moved Mayes from Police District 1 to the Milwaukee County Jail. The felony burglary charge was added when he was booked there, LeBell said.

He was released more than 24 hours after the traffic stop.

The treatment runs contrary to current jail policies designed to keep the spread of coronavirus to a minimum. Since mid-March, police have booked only the most violent offenders into the jail. Others have been fingerprinted, photographed and given a notice to appear in court at a future date.

"The way in which it was indelicate and inappropriate, and that’s the nicest way of putting it," LeBell said.

If police investigators wanted to interview Mayes, they could have gone to his home and asked to talk, or they could have called his lawyer, LeBell said.

Since July 2018, Mayes has been on pretrial release for a federal case in which he’s accused of conspiracy to commit arson and witness intimidation in connection to the 2016 civil unrest near Sherman Park. Mayes and his supporters have denied the accusations and called them a setup.

Local activists this week have accused Milwaukee police of inventing a reason to arrest Mayes in order to take him off the streets until his ongoing federal case proceeds to trial.

Mayes has also accused Police Chief Alfonso Morales of having a vendetta against him after publicly criticizing him in recent weeks.

Asked for comment Tuesday about the arrest of Mayes and the frustration of activists, police spokeswoman Sgt. Sheronda Grant released the following statement:

"The narrative of any type of vendetta is a false accusation. (Mayes) was arrested for a felony charge related to his alleged involvement in criminal activity that occurred on Tuesday, June 23, 2020, on the 2100 block of North 40th Street."

"I assure you we’re going to turn all the stones upside down and find out exactly what motivated this and we’ll get to the bottom of it," LeBell said. "If you want to summarize things from anybody’s perspective, it does not pass the smell test."

Contact Sophie Carson at (414) 223-5512 or scarson@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @SCarson_News.