Bombshell ACLU Lawsuit Accuses Milwaukee Police Of Unconstitutional Racial Profiling, Stop-and-Frisk

MILWAUKEE, WI — The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin has filed a lawsuit against the city of Milwaukee over claims that the city's police department has engaged in unconstitutional stop-and-frisk procedures against "tens of thousands" of people.

In the bombshell lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin's Milwaukee Division, the ACLU claims the Milwaukee Police Department has pursued an aggressive and unconstitutional policing strategy promoting large numbers of stops-and-frisks citywide.

As a result, the ACLU claims, the Milwaukee Police Department’s unlawful stop-and-frisk program caused the city’s black and Latino communities to feel alienated from the police, damaging the trust between police and the public central to achieving public safety.

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Collins v. Milwaukee

As a result, the ACLU claims that the combined number of MPD traffic and pedestrian stops skyrocketed from just 66,657 in 2007 to 196,434 in 2015 — a staggering, nearly threefold increase.

According to language in the ACLU's lawsuit, Collins v. Milwaukee, a 2011 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel analysis of MPD traffic stop data found that black drivers citywide were seven times more likely — and that Hispanic drivers were five times more likely — to be targeted for a traffic stop than white drivers.

Police React

In a prepared statement in response to the lawsuit, Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn says his department has never done "stop and frisk" and does not have quotas for traffic stops.

Flynn said, “The Milwaukee Police Department has never used the practice of 'stop and frisk,' nor has there ever been a quota for traffic stops. However, traffic stops in high crime areas have been proven to reduce the number of non-fatal shootings, robberies, and motor vehicle thefts. No discussion of our crime tactics is complete without reference to the hyper-victimization of disadvantaged communities of color by high rates of violent crime. But MPD considers it our moral duty to confront violence where it occurs. Towards that end, our officers take physical risks every day implementing the ethical and constitutional anti-crime strategies of the MPD.”

MPD released 2016 crime data recently that indicated 79 percent of homicide victims and 75 percent of aggravated assault victims were African-American. Eight-one percent of homicide suspects and 85 percent of aggravated assault suspects were African-American.

According to police, during the last nine years, as measured by UW-Milwaukee, citizen complaints have significantly declined and favorable public opinion of MPD has risen, despite the increase in proactive police activity.

Among those cited by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report as complainants in the suit, police stated, none of them have filed complaints with the Milwaukee Police Department or the Fire and Police Commission.

The Story of Charles Collins

Charles Collins is one of several people the ACLU mentions in its lawsuit as being victim of stop-and-frisk and racial profiling actions at the hands of the MPD.

According to the lawsuit, Collins is a 67-year-old black man, military veteran and long-time Milwaukee resident. He previously worked as a certified
nursing assistant at the Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex and is currently retired.

According to the lawsuit, one evening in late spring 2014, Collins and his wife were driving home on North 27th Street in Milwaukee following a visit to their son’s home.

At around 6:30 pm, just as it was getting dark, Collins turned left from North 27th Street onto West Atkinson Street.

A Milwaukee Police patrol car pulled up behind Collins’ car and conducted a traffic stop. One of the two uniformed MPD officers in the patrol car got out and approached Collins, who remained seated in the driver’s seat of his car.

The MPD officer asked Collins for his driver’s license, which Collins promptly provided. Collins asked the officer why he had been stopped and whether there were any problems with the car.

The MPD officer responded, “We’re not the ticket police.”

When Collins opened his wallet to remove his driver’s license, the officer saw that Collins also carried a concealed weapon permit. The MPD officer asked Collins if he had a gun in the car, and Collins responded that he did not.

The MPD officer took Collins’ driver’s license back to the patrol car, presumably to conduct a warrant search. After the officer returned, he permitted Collins and his wife to leave the scene without charging or citing them for any violation.

>>> image via flickr creative commons (vincent desjardins)