Russell Stamper) rejected the COPS grant, a $9.7 million federal grant to support 30 additional officers for three years. The community believed that the Common Council listened to the countless voices demanding that no additional money be added to the Milwaukee Police Department, not just through the COPS grant, but overall.
Later in this same meeting where they voted “no,” Ald. Dodd made a motion to reconsider the grant, meaning it will go back to the Common Council in January.
Hundreds of voices that spoke at budget hearings over the past two years said they don’t want the COPS grant today, tomorrow or next year! The community wants something else, and it’s not more police.
With no extension in sight, advocates are scrambling for solutions to an expected tidal wave of evictions. //end headline wrapper ?>Get a daily rundown of the top stories on Urban Milwaukee
An eviction in progress in 2017 on the near South Side. The Rental Housing Resource Center is meant to streamline services for renters and help stave off evictions like this. File photo by Adam Carr/NNS.
As the December 31st deadline nears for the end of the federal eviction moratorium, community leaders are working to keep residents in their homes.
The moratorium was enacted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and put in place on September 4th.
Nine council members blast Barrett, claiming he s not committed to police reform. By Jeramey Jannene - Dec 16th, 2020 04:02 pm //end headline wrapper ?>Police Administration Building, 951 N. James Lovell St. Photo by Christopher Hillard.
Should Milwaukee accept a federal grant to pay for 30 additional police officers?
Some Milwaukee officials, including Mayor
Tom Barrett, believe it’s a simple answer: yes.
But a majority of the Common Council has argued it’s far more complicated.
The council rejected the grant’s acceptance on an 6-8-1 vote Tuesday before one member used a procedural move to set it up to be voted on again in January.
What sounds like community oriented policing will really expand the War on Drugs. By Paul Mozina - Dec 10th, 2020 04:23 pm //end headline wrapper ?>Police Administration Building, 951 N. James Lovell St. Photo by Christopher Hillard.
The Common Council must reject the $9.7 million Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Grant on December 15; otherwise, the Milwaukee Police Department will dedicate 27 veteran officers to Task Forces in the DOJ’s Operation Legend Initiative, and 3 to ATF Task Forces for the next 4 years. That would be a surge in the War on Drugs masquerading as Community Oriented Policing. Acceptance of the grant would require that 30 new officers be hired; and, apparently by virtue of simply becoming an MPD member, they would be doing Community Oriented Policing. Is the MPD doing Community Oriented Policing now?