Advertisement ACLU sues MPD over use of 'stop-and-frisk' Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Milwaukee officers' use of "stop-and-frisk" is racially motivated and unconstitutional, the Wisconsin arm of the American Civil Liberties Union alleges in a lawsuit announced Wednesday. The suit alleges the department, led since 2008 by Chief Ed Flynn, has targeted tens of thousands of people without reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, and at the detriment of police-community relations and in violation of the 4th amendment to the United States Constitution. "Rather than feeling protected, these residents feel that they're under siege," ACLU attorney Jason Williamson said. Preliminary data shows significant disparities between police stop rates for white people and for black and Latino people, the ACLU said. The lawsuit represents lead plaintiff Charles Collins and five others who claim they've been victimized by the policy. Collins, 67, said he's been pulled over by police several times without justification, and he recalled a 2014 incident in which an officer pulled him over, asked to see his driver's license and checked for weapons. He said he was never told why he was stopped. "There's an anxiety in me when I go out," he said. "My eyes are always poised to see if there's a policeman in my vicinity. ... I'm on edge." The ACLU has challenged similar police initiatives in Boston and Chicago over racial-profiling concerns. New York halted its stop-and-frisk policy in 2014 after a federal judge ruled it unconstitutional. Asked about the lawsuit, Flynn denied that his department has ever used "stop and frisk" or that there's ever been a quota for traffic stops. He said, however, that traffic stops in high crime areas have been proven to reduce the number of 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," he said. "Toward that end, our officers take physical risks every day implementing the ethical and constitutional anti-crime strategies of the MPD." Flynn said Wednesday afternoon that they have data and stand behind what they do because they have a moral imperative to protect people and that they will not be afraid to protect people. "The disparity and applications of police tactics are driven by gross disparity in crime victimization in this community. To do anything else but to be present, available in the public spaces of this city where violence is greatest would be a dereliction of duty," Flynn said. The department's 2016 crime data indicates that 79 percent of homicide victims and 75 percent of aggravated assault victims were African American. The data show that 81 percent of homicide suspects and 85 percent of aggravated assault suspects were African American. Flynn also said that a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee study showed that citizen complaints against the department have declined and favorable opinion of the department has increased over the last nine years of his tenure.