As Sterling Brown’s civil lawsuit against the Milwaukee police department makes its way through the halls of (in)justice, just three of the eleven cops involved in the January 26 incident of police brutality actually faced any sort of tangible punishment for their very bad behavior.
The Milwaukee police officer who first confronted Milwaukee Bucks rookie Sterling Brown outside a Walgreens in January was suspended for two days, the Journal Sentinel has learned.
Two supervisors who later arrived, escalating the situation, were suspended for 10 and 15 days, sources said. Several other officers were reprimanded.
I broke down the incident back in May, and it’s an undeniably horrific example of terrible policing, institutional violence, and general disregard for human life—all over a black man’s late night stop at an empty Walgreens. And sure, police leadership and politicians swore that a change was coming, but predictably, little has been done—beyond Brown’s lawsuit, that is.
Named defendants in the suit include the City of Milwaukee, Police Chief Alfonso Morales, Sgt. Sean Mahnke, Sgt. Jeffrey S. Krueger and Officers Joseph J. Grams, Bojan Samardzic, James P. Collins, Cristobal Martinez Avila, Jason P. Jensen and (Erik) Andrade.
Just for context: Grams started the whole thing, and is the officer mentioned above who was suspended for two days. Mahnke and Krueger were the supervisors mentioned above, who should have de-escalated things; they both also received suspensions. Samardzic pulled his gun on Brown for no damn reason, and wielded the taser, firing on Mahnke’s order. Collins, who stood on Brown’s ankle for no damn reason, after the tasing, could be heard on camera cheerfully singing “Money, money, money!” in reference to all that sweet overtime he was about to get as a result of the incident.
All of the cops involved all still have their badges and guns (and tasers).
Except for one, that is. Officer Erik Andrade was fired, Chief Morales announced Thursday—but not for excessive force against Sterling Brown, and not for his complicity in said excessive force, which, again, was fully documented on camera.
No, Andrade, who, for the record, didn’t actually tackle or tase Brown (he just didn’t stop those who did), got his walking papers because of his behavior on Facebook, the chief said at an event at Marquette University.
Morales said the firing decision was not tied to anything Erik Andrade did when Brown was arrested, but he explained that the social media posts compromised the officer's ability to testify in other cases.
Earlier this year, the now-unemployed cop took to the social media platform to joke about using excessive force against Sterling Brown.
He also mocked another NBA player, Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors, for his hairstyle.
In June, Andrade, who was awarded a Lifesaving Merit Award by MPD in 2016, went after yet another NBA player, Cleveland Cavalier J.R. Smith, implying that he deserved the same treatment Brown received, as punishment for a ridiculous error on the court during the NBA Finals.
Screenshots of the semi-literate Facebook posts have been preserved for all eternity. They were included in Brown’s federal lawsuit, as evidence of just how deeply ingrained anti-black biases are within members of the Milwaukee Police Department—a department that has paid out over 22 million dollars in police misconduct lawsuits since 2015.
Chief Morales was careful to clarify that Andrade’s actions during the Brown incident had nothing to do with his termination.
Morales said in a statement that Andrade's posts violate the department's social media policies.
"They have a racist connotation and are derogatory, mocking an individual who was recently the subject of officers' use of force," Morales said. "Such comments also directly affect his credibility and ability to testify in future hearings as a member of this Department. I have not, and will not, tolerate such behavior."
But we already knew what kind of behavior MPD does tolerate, didn’t we?
Morales, apparently oblivious to the ridiculously awful and cruel implications of his words and actions, dug himself an even deeper hole.
"This is unfortunate … firing somebody is very serious in a profession such as this," Morales told Marquette Law School fellow Mike Gousha during an "On the Issues" event.
"But at the same time for me, one of the most important functions of a police officer is to be able to testify in court."
"And if you can't testify in court ... then I can't utilize you," the chief said.
One of the most important functions of a police officer should be to do no harm. To not recklessly hurt people for no damn reason. To not escalate an altogether insignificant parking violation into a situation where weapons are drawn and deployed, and where a black man is held face down in a wet parking lot on a wintry Wisconsin night. Yes, the Facebook posts were abhorrent, but by no means were they the worst aspect of this entire saga.
But, as Morales says, they rendered Andrade incapable of helping incarcerate others, which was very important to “top officials.” Coming from city known for police misconduct, in a state led by one of America’s Worst Governors™, it’s no surprise.
Law enforcement is no longer comprised of peace officers, welcomed within the communities they’ve supposedly pledged to keep safe, promised to protect and serve. They operate on fear, corruption, and certainty that they’ll never be held accountable.
After all, time and time again, across the country, we’re shown that harassing, harming, hurting, and killing unarmed black citizens is rarely considered a fireable offense, much less a criminal act.
It’s just all in a day’s work, right?
It’s time to get Scott Walker out of the Wisconsin Governor’s Mansion!
Click here to support his opponent, Tony Evers, on his path to victory!