ACLU of Wisconsin files suit alleging police discrimination in Milwaukee News
ACLU of Wisconsin files suit alleging police discrimination in Milwaukee

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Wisconsin [advocacy website] filed suit [complaint, PDF] in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Wednesday alleging that the Milwaukee Police Department [official website] discriminates against black and Latino men in its stop-and-frisk program. The complaint states that the policies of the police department violate the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights of the individuals affected as well as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While the ACLU maintains that the policies were adopted as part of a “broken windows” policing strategy, Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn rejected [statement] the claims, saying the department had “never used the practice of ‘stop and frisk,'” and that there had “never been a quota system.” The claim seeks injunctive relief, among other requests.

Stop-and-frisk [JURIST backgrounder] policies have led to litigation in other cities. In January the New York Police Department settled a lengthy dispute [JURIST report] over the issue. One of the primary criticisms of the stop-and-frisk policy is the possibility of racial discrimination [JURIST op-ed]. Other criticisms indicate that the procedure itself is unwieldy and ineffective [JURIST op-ed], emphasizing quantity of searches over their quality and resulting in an unnecessary drain on department time and resources.