Crime & Safety
New Lawsuit Accuses Wauwatosa Police Of Misconduct
A Menomonee Falls man alleges that Wauwatosa police injured him and detained him without cause.
WAUWATOSA, WI — The City of Wauwatosa and its police department are facing another police-related lawsuit. Menomonee Falls resident Shayne Piering filed a federal lawsuit Sept. 9 alleging that Wauwatosa officers broke his car window, threw him on the ground, and handcuffed him without cause, according to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
City Clerk Steven Braatz and City Attorney Alan Kesner confirmed to Patch that they were served with a lawsuit Sep. 15, but did not comment any further. Patch is awaiting comment from the Wauwatosa Police Department.
According to the suit, former Wauwatosa Police Officer George Opelt and other unnamed officers detained Piering, then 19 years old, on North Mayfair Road near North West Avenue. According to the suit, police detained Piering without cause, and severely injured him on his knee, back, and other areas. The suit also claims that other officers stood by, and the department did not adequately discipline the offending officers, according to the Journal-Sentinel.
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In March, 50 people filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Wauwatosa, former Police Chief Barry Weber, and Mayor Dennis McBride over October protests that occurred after the announcement that Officer Joseph Mensah would not face any charges for the shooting of Alvin Cole, a Black teenager. The protests were going on during the Piering event, but he claims he was not involved, according to the Journal-Sentinel.
The lawsuit alleges that an emergency curfew order was unlawful and violated the protesters’ constitutional rights, and the police department responded to the demonstrations with “brutal, violent, and unconstitutional tactics,” according to court documents.
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In March, Mayor Dennis McBride released a statement denying that the lawsuit had any “factual or legal merit.” Kresner told Patch the city is being represented by an outside firm, and that case is still in litigation process in federal court.
Read the full Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article here.
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