Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission Release 2023 Citizen Complaint Report

Photo of Milwaukee City Hall by Alexandria Staubach.

By Alexandria Staubach
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The Fire and Police Commission’s (FPC) Oversight and Accountability Committee met last week and reviewed the results of its 2023 Citizen Complaint Report.

According to the report, as the oversight authority for Milwaukee Police Department (MPD), Fire Department (MFD), and Department of Emergency Communications (DEC), the FPC provides the city with a system of investigation independent of the agency being investigated, using its board of civilian commissioners and staff. In addition to investigating those reports made directly to FPC, the commission also audits reports made directly to the agencies it oversees.

While overall complaints remain on the decline from a high in 2014, troubling statistics remain. According to the report, 67% of all 2023 complaints were made by black Milwaukeeans despite comprising only 37% of the metro population, according to the most recent U.S. census data.

Seven MPD employees received as many as four complaints while nine received as many as three.

Police District 1 saw the most complaints by far, registering an average of 56.5 complaints per 1000 police-citizen contacts.

District 1 includes the lakefront, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, downtown, and Summerfest grounds.
Commissioner Ruben Burgos, appointed in 2022, said “of course District 1 is unique” but acknowledged that the statistics are disproportionately elevated, saying they were “nowhere near” the volume of complaints per contact seen in other districts.

At the meeting, FPC staff said they reached out to District 1 for an explanation and received no response prior to the meeting. Burgos said it was a question District 1 needed to answer so, “we know that we are doing our due diligence.”

Commissioner Miriam Horwitz, chair of the citizen board commissioners, suggested that District 1 including an “entertainment zone” could help explain the volume of complaints. However, according to the report, District 1 also had by far the fewest overall citizen-officer contacts.

According to the report, the FPC investigated 192 distinct allegations in 2023. Of the 192, 34 were made against individuals who the FPC has no jurisdiction over, so that it investigated a total of 159. Of the 159 complaints, 13 were “sustained” or had sufficient evidence to support the allegations. In 2022 one complaint was sustained, and 11 were sustained in 2021.

FPC places complaints into five general categories: “Unauthorized use of force,” which includes cases in which an employee used excessive physical force or more force than was needed under the circumstances. “Discourtesy,” which occurs when an employee uses unprofessional or inappropriate language, actions or behaviors. “Disparate treatment,” which includes inappropriate language, conduct or behavior that is based on race, religion, nationality, physical appearance, gender or sexual orientation. “Department procedures” violations, which covers deviations from standard operating procedures. “Department Services,” which includes instances where a citizen experiences an inappropriate, slow, and/or an insufficient response from an employee in response to a call or service or request for intervention.

This year’s report found six substantiated complaints related to department procedures, seven related to department services and none for discourtesy, disparate treatment, or use of force.
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FPC used to enjoy broad power over law enforcement and procedure. However, last summer the Wisconsin Legislature passed Act 12, which dramatically changed the FPC’s authority. Under the legislation, policy making power was stripped from the FPC and given to department chiefs. However, the FPC is still charged with an annual review of both department policies and may advise the common council on recommended changes.

While the FPC no longer sets policy it may make recommendations to the common council who can still suspend or modify a policy with a two-thirds vote of all its members.

The changes under Act 12 only apply to “first class cities or counties,” or those with more than 750,000 people. No city in Wisconsin has a population exceeding 750,000 and Milwaukee County is the only county that meets Act 12’s population requirement. Milwaukee County has 916,205 residents according to July 1, 2023, U.S. Census data. Dane County has the next highest population with 575,347 residents.