Wauwatosa Supports Peaceful Protests

Press release from the City of Wauwatosa:

October 14, 2020

The First Amendment protects your right to assemble and express your views through protest. There are a number of ways to peacefully protest in Wauwatosa, and we’ve seen this occur successfully several times.

You have the right to speak out on other public property, such as parks or plazas in front of government buildings, as long as you are not blocking access to the building or interfering with other purposes the property was designed for.

Peaceful protests could include:

• Distributing flyers on public sidewalks, parks, and plazas
• Picketing or protesting on public sidewalks, parks, and plazas
• Chanting or singing on public sidewalks, parks, and plazas
• Marching in streets if using one lane of traffic and proceeding in the correct traffic direction

Some public areas in Wauwatosa where we’ve seen peaceful protests include Hart Park, 69th St. Plaza, City Hall, and sidewalks.

Peaceful protests do not include:

• Blocking access to buildings
• Marching in the streets if using both directions of traffic
• Blocking an entire intersection or roadway or using both lanes of vehicular traffic on a road without a permit
• Driving motorcycles or other motorized vehicles on sidewalks or on private property, such as lawns
• Lighting or setting off fireworks
• Disrupting peace in neighborhoods by shining strobe lights into private residences
• Noises that are unreasonable and disturb the quiet of residential neighborhoods, particularly in late night hours, such as honking horns, using bullhorns, or other loud noises

Commitment from Wauwatosa Police

The Wauwatosa Police Department is committed to maintain order, peace, and safety in our community. We welcome protests in our community that are lawful and peaceful. We will provide notice to the assembled groups when activity is taking place that is not peaceful (blocking entire intersections, driving on sidewalks, shining strobe lights into private residences, lighting fireworks, honking horns for extended periods of time outside of homes). Police will give people time to comply and leave before arrests are made.

Resources

ACLU Know your protest rights

This press release was produced by the City of Wauwatosa. The views expressed here are the author’s own.