MILWAUKEE — The Thursday shooting of a District 7 Milwaukee police officer has highlighted disagreements between the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) and the union representing the officers, the Milwaukee Police Association (MPA).
Hours before the MPD officer was shot and injured, MPA posted on social media that MPD put residents and officers at risk earlier this week by having only one squad on patrol in all of District 7 Tuesday night.
MPD said that is false information.
MPD released a statement saying there were sick calls, and some officers in training or on limited duty, but there were other members of the team stepping up and taking assignments.
On Friday, MPD Chief Jeffrey Norman added that officers from other districts are always able to assist as well.
“We have officers in the entire city," said Norman. "We are never left alone. There is always an individual that we can call on within our city to make sure that we are safe. I live in this city. I ensure that we are going to have the responsiveness in regard to what we got going on for public safety and it’s always our number one concern.”
The police union did not provide anyone to talk on-camera Friday but union president Alexander Ayala reiterated that there needs to be proper staffing, support and resources.
He released a statement Thursday night that reads in-part: “Our officers are committed to protecting this community, but they are doing so at great personal risk.”
District 7 residents have mixed feelings on this issue.
Some residents expressed that there is an adequate number of police in their neighborhood; others think more police should be on staff in the area, which they said is experiencing too much crime.
“I wouldn’t say they do a lot of patrolling," said Khatim Walton. "They are mainly commuting back and forth to the precinct. It’s not a lot but you do see them.”
Norman said there are more officers on the way.
“We have a very supportive mayor," said Norman. "We have a very supportive city. We are putting out regular recruitment. We have a class that is about to graduate next week. We have another class in house, and we have a future class this summer so there is that particular effort that is being put in there.”
The police union has indicated that police academy classes are far from full and stressed the need for better officer pay.
This is all happening as new contract negotiations between the union and the city now head to arbitration because a deal between the two sides could not be reached.
