Shame on Judge Milton Childs Crime Cannot Be Deterred Without Consequences
Statement from Alderman Bob Donovan January 9, 2020
Second degree recklessly endangering safety
Fleeing and eluding the police
Felon in possession of a firearm
Possession of THC with intent to deliver
These are only recent highlights from the list of offenses committed by Mr. Imari Brown, a 27 year-old man who, by his record, has brought a great deal of harm to this community. Most recently he was arrested after driving down Hampton Avenue at speeds approaching 80 miles per hour, occasionally on the wrong side of the road. He struck multiple vehicles before abandoning his car in which was later found drugs, a digital scale, and a firearm.
And this was no first-time offender. Mr. Brown has a list of crimes and resulting incarcerations dating back to his undiscoverable juvenile years. Most of his crimes involve the same sorts of activity for which he was most recently arrested.
But Judge Milton Childs, a recent appointee of Gov. Tony Evers, somehow saw things differently. He handed down to Mr. Brown a stayed sentence and three years’ probation. This wouldn’t be plausible if it were fiction.
What deterrence is this? What nonsense is this? What message does this send to this City about how serious we really are in our promises to do whatever we can to keep our residents safe? I want to commend WISN radio hosts Dan O’Donnell and Mark Belling for doing the digging on this and making it public.
I sincerely hope that Mr. Brown does not offend again. If, however, he does, and the consequences are tragic, we will no longer be free to wonder how such a thing could have happened. We will know those responsible and Mr. Brown will only be one of them.
And, Judge Childs, you owe this community an explanation.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
Do you understand what a stayed sentence is? Obviously not. Nor does it seem Mark Belling and Dan O’Donnell. No one has asked why the sentence has been stayed. Mr. Brown was not acquitted. He has been placed under the jurisdiction of the Department of Correction. Could it be that Mr. Brown suffers from a mental health disorder? If so, another jail sentence will make matters worse.
Are you even aware of the the MacArthur Foundation grant? Milwaukee is one of 4 municipalities that have received $8 million to divert individuals with mental illnesses from jail. Incarcerating mentally ill is expensive and only makes matters worse. Funneling low level offenders like Mr. Brown into programs like drug court and other alternatives means that individuals get treatment. Treatment is the key to reducing recidivism.
Belling, O’Donnell and Donovan need to come out of their white supremacist ivory tower and live in the real world.
“What nonsense is this?”, you say. The WORST kind, I say. If it is possible for this offender to EVER drive a vehicle on our streets again that would be too soon. I say this as one who was crossing the street at night recently (“walk sign” was on) and had to scramble/run to avoid being hit by a car, apparently speeding), that turned left, accelerating into the crosswalk and was on course to mow me down along with my two dogs. I fell and was injured. Dogs are fine.
At the very same place right outside my residence a few months ago I saw a pedestrian on the ground at that crosswalk in the broad daylight with his shopping bag(s) of groceries lying all over the road while being administered to by EMTs. Sound familiar, considering the pedestrian who was killed recently on the sidewalk when a car hit her?
Please remove this judge’s gavel and robes before his “nonsensical” lack of judgment leads to more incidents like the three mentioned here.
mkwagner would do well to reconsider what is a “low level offender”. Multiple repeat offender and felon in possession of a firearm who flees police and drives 80 mph on a street, wrong side no less, careening off parked vehicles, just perhaps on his way to deliver some drugs in his possession.
It’s more than likely Mr Brown DOES have a mental disorder(s). That makes him no less dangerous, but perjhaps even moreso if he’s allowed to mingle among us in his condition, whatever it may be. I’m all for getting him fixed if that’s possible, but I fear that he may end up dead himself while on probation and he may put one or more others in their graves or on permanent disability in the process. Straightening out a mental disorder takes a while and a willing “patient”. Running down somebody at high speeds and pulling a weapon when agitated … takes takes no more than a few seconds. Long term fix, but short term, perhaps even immediate, risk.
Maybe the young man who held up my granddaughter at gunpoint on the nearby night street has a “mental health disorder”, too; she complied with his demands to turn over her purse, phone and car keys rather than finding out if his firearm was real and loaded, much less try to assess his mental state and help him set up an appointment. If he was caught or is caught trying the same tactics again, I truly hope he doesn’t appear before Judge Childs.
Final comment: It’s unforunate for your argument that you casually accuse individuals of being “white supremacists”. We know all too well what such lowlifes say and do and are more than capable of identifying abd condemning them ourselves.
Rewording first paragraph above to complete the thought. Sorry.
Multiple repeat offender and felon in possession of a firearm who flees police and drives 80 mph on a street, wrong side no less, careening off parked vehicles, just perhaps on his way to deliver some drugs in his possession (add) doesn’t fit MY definition of a “low level offender”. We’’ll just have to accept that we differ on that.