Milwaukee Police Department Addresses Our Officer’s Interaction with Bobbie Lou Schoeffling
MILWAUKEE, WI – Recently, a local newspaper reported on the domestic violence related homicide of Bobbie Lou Schoeffling and highlighted an interaction between a member of our department and Ms. Schoeffling who was reporting an incident of domestic violence prior to her tragic death.
The Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) recognizes and acknowledges the professional shortcomings and actions of our officer identified in this case. Professional excellence and compassion are the expectations for all of our department members. MPD understands that we have a great responsibility to the public and must handle every response and interaction with professionalism, care and concern for the public that we serve. MPD is in the process of conducting outreach to our community partners to engage in conversations about additional best practices we can implement and work is underway to close any institutional gaps both internally and with other state system partners.
MPD is committed to any and all efforts to eliminate intimate partner and domestic violence in our community. Most recently, we have added resources to the Domestic Violence High Risk Team (DVHRT), a collaborative domestic violence case management and programming effort led by the Sojourner Family Peace Center which includes representatives from MPD, the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. In addition, we are proactively strengthening and expanding our relationships with other domestic violence non-profit organizations in our community that provide a diverse collective of culturally sensitive resources throughout Milwaukee. While MPD has made great strides in adding systematic enhancements to directly impact domestic violence related incidents, we understand the important role empathy plays when interacting with survivors of domestic violence.
MPD reminds members of the public who wish to express dissatisfaction with members of this department that information to file a complaint can be found at Citizen Complaints (milwaukee.gov).
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.
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