Milwaukee Gets DNC 2020—What Could Go Wrong?

The NBA's Sterling Brown, who was tased and arrested
 after a police attack stemming from a parking violation,
filed a lawsuit in 2018 against the city of Milwaukee,
the police chief and the eight officers involved in his
arrest, reported CNN. Noone was surprised by the attack.

Madison, Wisconsin—When Milwaukee Police assaulted NBA player Sterling K. Brown for a parking violation in early 2018, the Milwaukee police chief subsequently apologized for inappropriate police conduct, as though the assault were a breach of social etiquette, and not a human rights violation (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, CNN, Mal Contends).

Mayor Tom Barrett (D) (2004-present) was worse, releasing a statement reading in part: "I’m hopeful this incident will be a turning point and allow us to take those actions necessary to improve police community relations" (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). A turning point.

A group of malicious cops surround, lie to, defame, threaten and tase a man for a momentary parking violation, and Barrett talks about "police community relations."

It's Barrett. In the past year, precisely what actions have Barrett and the city of Milwaukee taken to "improve police community relations" and implement this so-desired turning point?

The Milwaukee cops converging on Brown from a total of eight police vehicles knew their job.

Cops can and will do anything, like kicking the shit out of black folks, knowing Barrett has their backs.

This link leads to Google search results with key words: Milwaukee police kick man in the head. Turning points, Tom Barrett calls these attacks, lots of turning points.

Sterling Brown subsequently filed a federal civil rights complaint. He'll win.

This long introduction is necessary because the Democratic National Convention 2020 will be sited in Milwaukee, it was announced today. "The convention is scheduled for July 13-16, 2020, with Fiserv Forum serving as the centerpiece of the event," the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports.

Milwaukee is the most racist, segregated city in the worst state to be black.

There will be massive demonstrations.

Contemplate the reaction from Milwaukee Police.  Barrett's platitudes have amounted to nothing.

See the problem here?

Sterling Brown, another victim of racist Milwaukee cops speaks out
for safety of community facing the threat of police protected by Milwaukee
city government, especially Mayor Tom Barrett.

Cop Problem — NBA Player Sterling Brown Files Federal Civil Rights Action Against Cops and Milwaukee

Updated - "The NBA's Sterling Brown, who was tased and arrested earlier this year after an altercation stemming from a parking violation, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the city of Milwaukee, the police chief and the eight officers involved in his arrest," reports CNN.

"Key to the suit will be one of the officers' alleged social media posts, which appear to celebrate the actions of the officers, three of whom were suspended without pay. Though an initial police report described Brown as aggressive, Police Chief Alfonso Morales has since apologized for the officers' behavior, saying they acted 'inappropriately.' Mayor Tom Barrett said, 'No citizen should be treated this way.'

Sterling Brown found out the hard way Milwaukee Police are malignant and racist.

Morales treated the cop attack like a breach of etiquette. Barrett cried crocodile tears.

Named as defendants in the action are: POLICE ALFONSO MORALES, in his Official capacity, SERGEANT SEAN A. MAHNKE, SERGEANT JEFFREY S. KRUEGER, OFFICER JOSEPH J. GRAMS, OFFICER BOJAN SAMARDZIC, OFFICER JAMES P. COLLINS, OFFICER CRISTOBAL MARTINEZ AVILA, OFFICER ERIK A. ANDRADE, and OFFICER JASON P. JENSEN.

After tasing, beating and arresting Brown for a parking ticket, the cops took to social media to ridicule and belittle Brown.

From lawsuit filed today: One of the officers involved in the tazing of Milwaukee Buck Sterling Brown joked about the incident on Facebook and then - after Game 1 of the NBA finals - joked about doing the same thing to JR Smith pic.twitter.com/TK9MkgmlJv

— Wesley (@WesleyLowery) June 19, 2018

The portrait Sterling Brown's 40-page lawsuit (largely backed up by publicly available videos) paints of the Milwaukee officers who tazed him: needless escalation, bragging about overtime for beating someone up, coordinating their stories, racist FB posts pic.twitter.com/RrJKSxX4vv

— Wesley (@WesleyLowery) June 19, 2018

Brown in his civil rights complaint offers an indictment of the Wisconsin cop problem and systemic racism directed at citizens by racist cops.

Reads the complaint:

20. This imbalance in violence against African Americans by police officers is particularly rampant in the State of Wisconsin. Mesic et al., The Relationship Between Structural Racism and Black-White Disparities in Fatal Police Shootings at the State Level , 110, Journal of the National Medical Association, 106, 110 (2018). 21.

21. In Wisconsin, over fifteen unarmed African Americans are shot by police officers for every individual unarmed white person shot by a police officer.

In Wisconsin, racist cops thrive in the para-military goon squads because in part they enjoy the political protection of liberal mayors in Milwaukee and Madison.

Racist Milwaukee cops such as Erik A. Andrade openly ridiculed and mocked Brown because "he and other Defendant officers are allowed to engage in unlawful attacks and arrests of African Americans without justification and then relish such events without any fear of real discipline," the suits says, (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).

Cop Problem Looms in Early Wisconsin Summer and Mid-term Primary Elections

The face of hate in Madison, Wisconsin wears military-
blue-and-black. Killers Justin Bailey and Gary Pihlaja
have bad attitudes and they found a home with
local police in Madison, Wisconsin before gunning
down 26-year-old Ashley DiPiazza in 2014.

Madison, Wisconsin — It's early Summer in Wisconsin this morning, beautiful outside. Each day, each breath is a celebration.

Yet, many will be killed and harassed the next few months by a vicious and mindless gang, the cops.

In Wisconsin's two largest cities, the cops have the political backing of the local liberal mayors, Tom Barrett in Milwaukee and Paul Soglin in Madison.

In Milwaukee the ugly, cop attack on Sterling Brown this year showed on video the true colors of police. Certainly, many who watched the video thought, 'at least they didn't kill him this time.' Small favors from the Evangelicals, Trumpists and assorted brutal human garbage in military-black-and-blue who have become the menace few openly oppose.

The Milwaukee cop attack on Mr. Brown was relentless — insulting, taunting, racist, hostile, aimed-to-provoke a reaction and inflict humiliation and anger, (it's a cop tactic) — until the cops finally decided to taser and beat the black man for apparently parking not very well over two handicapped spots in the middle of the night before the man picked something up at a local Walgreen's.

SOP in Milwaukee and the suburbs. SOP everywhere, daily. Residents are by-standers, and in Milwaukee Barrett, the mayor no less, is afraid to take on this armed gang of punks and thugs.

What kind of people treat other others in the manner caught on the Brown video? Scum-bags, in other words — cops. It's who this gang wants to be — violent, opposed to all outside the gang, and loyal to each other against the public interest.

Our beautiful Summer comes during a major election year.

Madison's Paul Soglin is running for the Democratic Party nomination for governor. The race is wide-open. Absentee voting begins June 28 for the partisan primary in some two weeks.

Soglin should be a natural for gov. Anybody visiting Madison knows why.

The world-class university, UW-Madison, is connected by State Street to the Capitol, ringed by bars, restaurants and boutique shops. The Capitol is connected by Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd to Lake Monona and the Monona Terrace and Convention Center, as envisioned and designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Soglin has pursued a high-wage local economy, a progressive social agenda and the results to any fair-minded observer are impressive.

Soglin deserves credit for Madison, its libraries and its elections, all together that are nothing short of magnificent, continually drawing the ire of Gov. Scott Walker (R) who in policy and rhetoric demeans Madison to the point of actually shooing away $100s of millions in federal money, lest Madison becomes an even more fervent oasis offensive to the current fundamentalist Wisconsin governor.

There's another side of Madison though that's glossed over, and Soglin is the major collaborator of this daily exercise in indecency.

It may cost Soglin the nomination on Election Day, Aug. 14. It should.

It was July 2, 2016 and after the Madison police killed another unarmed man, Paul Soglin reportedly decided he needed to say something.

But not about the police, not challenging the killing, not vowing to use every lever of the Mayor's office to stop the killing, and certainly not eviscerating the Madison Police Dept.

No, Soglin publicly castigated the Madison community in 2016 warning the police will continue to kill people and it's the public's fault, the victims' fault, (WISC-TV, WKOW-TV, Isthmus, Mal Contends). Read links above and tell me Soglin was not indecent for his lack of empathy of killer-cop victims.

It was an incredibly cold-blooded statement, and Soglin's reptilian psychology locked in the biggest political knock on Soglin: He's out-of-touch, even pathologically incapable of identifying with victims of police violence and brutality.

In 2017, a record $7 million was awarded to the family of young Ashley DiPiazza after two Madison cops gunned her down in cold blood in 2014. Though Madison cops and Soglin did not, and do not see this young woman as a human being, it is worth affirming Ashley DiPiazza was a human being — a beautiful, young woman gunned down by people for whom life means little.

Said DiPiazza's grieving father in 2017: "She had just told me all her friends were married and had kids, and she felt a little left out. She’d ask, ‘Dad, what kind of mother do you think I’d make to my child?’ I told her she’d be great," (Schultz, Wisconsin State Journal).

Forget good-health professionals. No family member ever fully recovers from vicious killings of the young.

Not the family and friends of Paul Heenan, gunned down by Madison cops in 2012. City settled for $2.3 million in 2015.

Not the family and friends of Tony Robinson, gunned down by Madison cops in 2015. City settled for $3.35 million in 2017.

"City of Madison insurance costs have risen by more than 42 percent over the past three years after the city has agreed or been ordered to pay nearly $13 million in two settlements and a jury award in three fatal police shootings," reports the Wisconsin State Journal this morning.

The reasons explaining why police kill so many people, harass so many people, imprison so many people are many.

But one thing is certain. Cops would not inflict a vicious assault against society in Madison, if the police did not have the full backing of Mayor Paul Soglin.

I have seen what Madison and area police are capable of and police misconduct, deceit, character assassination and violence are the defining features of these municipal gangs, and as much as anybody Paul Soglin should be counted in the company of the guilty.

The Fight for Peace and Safety — Outlaws and Danger Among Us Are the Police

Sterling Brown, another victim of racist Milwaukee cops
speaks out for safety of community facing the threat
of police protected by Milwaukee city government.

Municipal police are a clear and present danger to the lives, liberty and health of citizens, especially black and brown citizens.

This truth is incontrovertible, yet remains a reality largely ignored by traditional checks on criminality such as the local press.

Sterling Brown of the Milwaukee Bucks speaks out against the Milwaukee cops, an outlaw band of religious fundies, racists, and anti-social misfits who nevertheless enjoy the protection of the Milwaukee mayor, police administration and Milwaukee-area fascists.

From Sterling Brown

My experience in January with the Milwaukee Police Department was wrong and shouldn’t happen to anybody. What should have been a simple parking ticket turned into an attempt at police intimidation, followed by the unlawful use of physical force, including being handcuffed and tased, and then unlawfully booked. This experience with the Milwaukee Police Department has forced me to stand up and tell my story so that I can help prevent these injustices from happening in the future.

Situations like mine and worse happen every day in the black community. Being a voice and a face for people who won’t be heard and don’t have the same platform as I have is a responsibility I take seriously. I am speaking for Dontre Hamilton of Milwaukee, Laquan McDonald of Chicago, Stephon Clark of Sacramento, Eric Garner of New York, and the list goes on. These people aren’t able to speak anymore because of unjust actions by those who are supposed to “serve and protect” the people.

The common denominator in all of these situations has been racism towards the minority community, the abuse of power, and the lack of accountability for officers involved. The lack of repercussions for the police officers involved in so many of these cases is offensive. This is a slap in the face to the victims’ families and communities.

Black men shouldn’t have to have their guard up and instantly be on the defensive when seeing a police officer, but it’s our reality and a real problem. There must be mutual respect and both sides have to figure out how to accomplish this.

There are no easy solutions to this problem, but there are strides that can be made to create change. I will do my part in helping to prevent similar incidents from happening to the minority community in the future.

This is bigger than me. My family, friends, legal team, Priority Sports, Milwaukee Bucks, the black community and the communities of all who stand against injustice plan to continue the fight. Peaceful support to ensure no further damage to our community is the only way to respond. I know many of you will share my anger and frustration, but for our community to progress and grow, we need to build on what we already have and not destroy it. I will take legal action against the Milwaukee Police Department to continue forcing change in our community.
#

Bullying Milwaukee Police Fine 70-Year-Old Widow for Defending Dog

Update: Readers can contact the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (MJS) on this matter at:

Letters to the Editor http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=766191

Milwaukee, Wisconsin—Donna Ganong is a 70-year-old widow running a corner tavern on Milwaukee's near-south side.

In early July, Mrs. Ganong tried to help a crying, hungry dog in an alley, and the Milwaukee police fined her $350 for her trouble.

Located at the corner of 1400 West Orchard Street and South 14th Street, Ganong’s Corner, has seen its share of life, though the neighborhood bar is not much of a blip on the Milwaukee radar screen.

Apparently the people don't matter all that much to the Milwaukee police either.

Mrs. Ganong lost her husband, Ron, and one of her three children; but loves running her bar (she has been in the tavern business for 34 years) and is one of the community's unofficial neighborhood watch leaders—keeping in frequent touch with neighbors about the area's heavy vandalism and crime problems.

Nice woman, right?

Not according to the Milwaukee police and one Officer Baker whose apparent priorities and lack of discretion do discredit to the force.

On the rainy night of July 7th, Mrs. Ganong, an animal lover, heard a dog yelping and crying in the alley adjacent to her tavern.

Investigating, she found a dog, appearing hungry, tied up in the alley, and told a man she believed to be the owner of the dog that he should take the dog inside and feed him.

According to Mrs. Ganong, the man, (described as about six-foot, approximately 160 lbs), refused Ganong’s request, and said not very nice things to her in response to her suggestion, statements allegedly that included "... white bitch."

Nice.

Mrs. Ganong phoned the police, who arrived, and gave both people disorderly conduct tickets, though the man with the dog may have been given a ticket for disturbing the peace, or as Ganong says in a heavy south-side accent, for “cruelty to animals.”

Mrs. Ganong’s ticket described the six-foot man as a "victim," to whom the "subject (Mrs. Ganong) intentionally made threats to cause bodily harm ... causing the victim to flee for their safety."

So, let's see a five-four, 70-year-old woman berates a six-foot man in an alley to take care of his dog, and the cop describes the man as a victim.

"If someone mistreats an animal or a kid, I'm right there. I speak up," said Ganong, though she said that she is not always keen on the idea of walking alone into alleys on summer nights, she just loves dogs.

Apparently, Ganong told the arriving officer to take care of the dog or she would.

This is the “threat” that Officer Baker contends is disorderly conduct.

It gets worse.

Ganong left the alley and went to home, and then heard heavy banging on her door that now has visible dents and looks like it had been smashed.

Apparently, it was the cop banging something against the door that sounded like a nightstick to Ganong. But this 70-year-old woman became scared, refusing to open her door. She had had enough drama for the night.

Not enough for Officer Baker (now there's a real hero) who promptly wrote a second $175 disorderly conduct ticket reading "(Ganong) intentionally obstructed the issuance of a citation by going inside her residence and refusing to talk to police. ..."

Apparently, Officer Baker can't quite comprehend how two men in an alley might intimidate a woman who tried to help a dog in distress.

Ganong's son, Greg, is angry. "I guess the cops think a 70-year-old woman is a real threat," he said bitterly, sipping a beer.

So, Mrs. Ganong, who says the worst thing she has ever done is get a speeding ticket, was cited twice on that July night for disorderly conduct, tickets totaling $350 that Mrs. Ganong is very insistent on challenging at her court date on August 25.

Area homeowners at the bar say their yards are regularly littered and vandalized by often loud patrons walking by after other taverns close blocks away, and that they appreciate the efforts of Ganong and other neighbors keeping their eyes out for each other.

But I can see why they would think twice before calling the police to report anything — when that alert might make them the object of unwelcome and unpleasant police attention. So goes the Milwaukee Police Department's attempts at community relations.

The gregarious Mrs. Ganong always has a story to tell at the bar, and the regulars say she is the "salt of the earth."

Ganong says she is content, though she says there is growing lack of respect among the young people she encounters, and she objects to the direction that she sees her neighborhood going.

But she says not to feel sorry for her; she can take care of herself.

I believe her.

But now, the Milwaukee police have this 70-year-old woman very disappointed, angry, and scared, wondering just whose side the police are on.

A fine of $350 may not seem like a lot of money, but the sense of betrayal that Mrs. Ganong and her customers feel cuts pretty deep.

Mrs. Ganong says anyone from the Milwaukee media who wants to call and talk to her about this incident can call the bar at: (414) 645-3707.