Illegal drugs are strangling the life out of our neighborhoods

On Tuesday I was informed that Milwaukee Police and HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) agents made a major drug bust of an individual who has been dealing pure fentanyl on the street in the area of S. Layton Blvd. and W. Mineral.

Fentanyl is poison that is killing drug users and seriously endangering officers who come into contact with it. I have just one question for the mayor and for our former police chief (Ed Flynn): So when did the 8th Aldermanic District become the epicenter for drugs in Milwaukee?!

I place much of the blame on former MPD Chief Flynn, who simply refused to administer the resources necessary to fight drugs when the problem was first exploding. When so many of us were clamoring for more patrols and additional officers to fight the scourge, we got squat from Chief Flynn and Mayor Tom Barrett.

With no focus of needed manpower and resources to fight drugs on the near south side, the situation deteriorated in a fairly short amount of time. For those of us who fought for years to restore neighborhoods to the point where they were safe, this downturn in public safety and saturation of illegal drugs has been extremely painful and disheartening.

The drug problem has been fueling addicted panhandlers and prostitutes and so many other crime issues – all while Chief Flynn and Mayor Barrett did little or nothing to stop it. What we are witnessing is what happens when you neglect to address the incendiary nature of a drug epidemic. Crime explodes and neighborhoods literally get torn to pieces before our eyes.

The individual who was selling the fentanyl was doing so within a few blocks of four churches and two schools. I’m told his normal preferred peddling corner was 27th and Evergreen right next to a building housing retirees, and right across from the Domes, which attracts visitors from across the region and the state.

What a wonderful tourist attraction!

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.