Fire and Police Commission has more power than the State Legislature

Last night the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission (FPC) voted to an all-out ban on no knock search warrants in Milwaukee. This measure was already taken up in the State Legislature early this year, where it was voted down. In its place a study of no-knock warrants will be conducted. The FPC, all of which have no law enforcement training, even went against the wishes of their newly appointed Police Chief and the SOP he provided. Their move to ban no knock warrants seems to be from a politically charged movement around the country where ONE case, out of thousands, turned questionable in a state hundreds of miles away. The knee jerk reaction shown by the FPC puts our officer’s safety in jeopardy. Instead of trained law enforcement personnel choosing the best way to keep everyone safe, the FPC decided to give criminals opportunities to arm themselves and have a shootout with the police.

A Fire and Police Commission is supposed to be made up of commissioners with equal political views. I think we all know that this is not the case in Milwaukee. Milwaukee has literally placed anti police advocates, who have demonstrated for the defunding of police, in control of police policy. How can seven people appointed by one Mayor have the power to implement an SOP against what is standard in State Law. As homicides and violent crime rates spike in our City, the FPC has decided to take even more tools away from the police who are working in increasingly dangerous conditions. What will they think of next? Do they have the power to disarm police and make them nothing more than security? What Milwaukee needs is reform of these overpowering FPC. The power to determine the safety of our community and police should not be a board of seven unelected officials. Rather, that power should fall in the hands of State elected officials who have power to make State Laws. Crime knows no borders and Milwaukee crime is spilling out of the city, affecting communities that have no say in police reform in Milwaukee. The Officers of the Milwaukee Police Association are professional and will continue to reduce crime in Milwaukee, even if it is with one hand tied behind their backs.

Andrew Wagner, President, Milwaukee Police Association

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.