Milwaukee Police Union: Water Street 'Out of Control' as Leaders Do 'Nothing'

The Milwaukee Police Association's president says city leaders are doing "NOTHING" about exploding crime, and he called on them to hire more officers to replenish the ranks of those lost to retirement amid plunging morale caused in part by the city leaders' anti-police rhetoric. “Today is a sad day for Milwaukee. What is sad is the fact that crime in Milwaukee is on the rise," Dale Bormann Jr. wrote in a news release. For a second weekend in a row, Water Street “has been out of control. There have been fights, there have been shootings, there have been people out there who just don’t care about others," he wrote. "The businesses are not getting what they deserve. And that needs to stop NOW! It’s time for the City and Department to stand up to those who are causing destruction in this city.  It’s time for the Leaders of this City to do their jobs instead of sitting on their hands, not doing a thing to protect the citizens of Milwaukee. HIRE MORE OFFICERS!!!!!” As of June 22, 2021, crime in the City of Milwaukee was up 45%, he noted. “The crime number is above the historical homicide rate of 2020. Homicides are up 1%, rapes up 24%, robberies up 21%, thefts up 42%, and motor vehicle thefts up 194%.” “What are the city leaders (Mayor or Alderpersons) doing about this? NOTHING. Have you asked them what they are doing about it? Probably not," he wrote. (We did ask Mayor Tom Barrett what he was doing about it, and we received a generic statement you can read here.) "Has the city crime rate been addressed by city leaders? NOPE," Bormann continued. "Not one city leader has said a thing about the raising crime rate. Why not??? Maybe it’s because they have not been victims of crimes? Maybe it’s because they don’t care?" The Milwaukee Police Department is “losing officers at an alarming rate. Many officers are not staying past their retirement eligible date," he said. In April 2021, a class of 25 Milwaukee Police Association members retired. In June 2021, 7 more are eligible to retire and in July 2021, 21. In December 2021, 15. That is “68 bodies that have or will retire in 2021. That number, along with 120 officers removed from the budget, is depleting the police department. It is reducing the citizens’ safety.” (We previously reported that the number of sworn officers on the Milwaukee force has plunged 18% since the mid 1990s). These “decreased numbers also hurt the citizens of Milwaukee. How? Longer wait times for an officer to arrive, long wait times to take your complaint, long wait times to help YOU. The officers dealing with the higher crime rate will not be able to help you. They will be doing other things. They will be trying to reduce the crime rate," Bormann said.