Milwaukee Police Department Officer Charged With Using Position to Help Gang

Juwon Madlock and a Glock with machine gun modifier recovered from his residence. Photo of Madlock from MPD, photo of Glock from criminal complaint.

Juwon Madlock, a now-former Milwaukee Police Department officer, was charged Wednesday with using his position to aide the “Burleigh Zoo Family” gang.

Madlock, 29, is alleged to have aided or abetted in seven federal offenses:  transferring ammunition to a felon, possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a machine gun, lying to a federal agent, obstruction, the sale or receipt of stolen goods and misprision, the concealment of one’s knowledge of a felony act.

A criminal complaint authored by FBI agent Christopher J. Burke says investigators learned of Madlock’s actions during an investigation of alleged Burleigh Zoo member Cobie Hannah, Jr., a wanted fugitive. A search of Hannah’s Greenfield home and a recovered phone revealed more than 1,000 text messages between the two.

Madlock, as detailed in the complaint via excerpted text message exchanges, is alleged to have provided the addresses of rival gang members to Hannah, worked with Hannah to steal a car, assisted Hannah with fraudulent license plates to avoid detection of stolen vehicles, provided details about officers who arrested Hannah’s associates or seized property, provided Hannah with locations of police activity to avoid arrest, discussed selling weapons and ammunition to Hannah, offered to buy a stolen truck, advised on the use of a shell catcher to avoid leaving evidence at a scene, advised Hannah on how to lose pursuit in a high-speed chase and discussed the use and sale of machine gun converters on Glock handguns.

Madlock was arrested on March 12 and, according to MPD, resigned at that time.

While being interviewed by a federal agent and a member of MPD’s Internal Affairs Division, investigators used a search warrant to search Madlock’s home on N. 41st Street. A handgun with a machine gun conversion device was recovered, as were a shell catcher and a phone, hidden a crockpot, with the number used to communicate with Hannah. Madlock, viewing a photo, confirmed the gun was his. He also admitted he provided Hannah with ammunition, offered to sell him guns and provided the addresses of his rivals, but, according to the complaint, said he thought Hannah would “merely beat them up.”

Madlock told investigators he was using Hannah as a source of information.

“Interviewers told Madlock they found his story incredible, because confidential sources typically provide law enforcement with information, but in the messages excerpted above, the situation is reversed: Madlock, the police officer, is providing information to Hannah, the wanted fugitive. Madlock did not have a cogent response,” says the complaint.

Madlock’s Prior Suspensions

Madlock was previously suspended for 10 days by MPD.

The suspension stemmed from a 2021 incident where Madlock and another officer were found, via video evidence, to have failed to be “forthright and candid” with supervisors about an interaction with an individual who had been shot at and went to a police station.

Madlock was also suspended for five days later that year for a failure to follow department practices and act upon known information in a domestic violence investigation.

As detailed in a multi-publication report earlier this month, Madlock was placed on the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Brady List, a list of officers with credibility concerns, as a result of the first 2021 incident.

Mayor, Chief, Union Respond

“Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman expects all members, sworn and civilian, to demonstrate the highest ethical standards in the performance of their duties and was extremely disappointed to learn about the misconduct in this case,” said MPD in a press release. MPD said it learned of Madlock’s misconduct “recently.”

The criminal complaint lays out a series of events that started with a multi-agency arrest of Hannah on Feb. 13. Hannah’s phone is said to have been first accessed on Feb. 17. A warrant to inspect Madlock’s phone was applied for March 7.

At an unrelated press conference Friday morning, Mayor Cavalier Johnson said he doesn’t think the public should be concerned that there are more officers similar to Madlock.

“This is an isolated incident, I believe, and when it comes to an issue like this, we should all be cognizant of the fact that there are individual people in the Milwaukee Police Department, right?” said Johnson. “Those individuals swear an oath to serve and protect sometimes, just like in every single profession, you might have somebody that strays, which was the case in this particular incident. However, I think the vast majority of people in the department live up to the oath that they swear to protect and serve the people of Milwaukee, do that with dignity and do that with diligence, and that’s exactly what I expect of those police officers.”

He said he supported Norman’s statement.

“As with any individual, Juwon J. Madlock is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law,” said the Milwaukee Police Association in a statement.

What’s Next?

Madlock, according to federal court records, is being represented by Federal Defender Sevices of Wisconsin, a nonprofit, government-backed defense service.

Judge William E. Duffin ordered Madlocked detained following an initial appearance Thursday, the day the complaint was unsealed, in what a court report lists as “a very unusual situation.” Duffin, according to the report, believes Madlock is a flight risk and danger to the community.

A preliminary hearing is set for March 26.

The charges include a maximum fine of $250,000. The transferring ammunition charge is punishable by up to 15 years imprisonment. Imprisonment for other charges range from three to 12 years.

Madlock had been assigned to District 6, which includes the southernmost portions of the city, stretching from the city’s southwest corner east to Bay View. He was previously assigned to District 7 in the middle of the city’s north side.