Amendment IV - The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment IX - The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
On July 21, 2020, in the midst of a national uprising centered on police brutality, inequities, and racism, the city of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin hosted a Public Listening Session on race, equity, and policing issues. Hosted by the city’s Common Council, the event was held in the city’s outdoor stadium, and featured more than a hundred attendees. Most people were there to demand change within the city’s police force, known locally for its abhorrent history of blatant racism, over-policing, and brutality towards Black and Brown people.
As people of myriad backgrounds and multiple local communities stepped up the the microphone to voice their opinions, they were asked to give their names and addresses, standard practice for Wauwatosa public hearings. This is the uncut youtube video of the entire event.
Unbeknownst to the crowd, Dominick Ratkowski, a Wauwatosa city employee, was creating a list of those speaking. Although not a police officer, Mr. Ratkowski was compiling this secret list at the behest of the Wauwatosa Police Department (WPD) and their now-retired Chief Barry Weber, the same man who at at the time decided to keep on his force an officer that had shot and killed three young men in the past five years.
The list was only circulated within the WPD, as part of a “Protest Folder,” and aside from help in surveilling and investigating citizens for exercising their 1st Amendment rights, its purpose is not entirely known. It eventually grew to 190 names, and included the known names, addresses, birth dates, employers, social media information, and photographs of dozens of people involved in last summer’s protest movements. It also included elected officials and community leaders, as well as the attorneys representing the families of people that have been killed by police. Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride, who at times marched alongside The People’s Revolution, a local grassroots human rights organization, was not included on the list, while at least one credentialed member of the press was.
Not stopping there, the WPD at some point turned the list over to the FBI, further violating the right to privacy for not only the Wauwatosa residents that spoke out that evening, but anybody else the WPD disagreed with. Again, exactly how the list would be useful to the FBI is unknown at this time, but one can imagine.
Only through a public records request submitted in 2020 was the Protester List discovered, where it was discussed in a WPD internal email. After nearly six months, Kimberley Motley, an attorney representing many of the protesters, was able to force the WPD to turn over the entire list.
As a longtime Wisconsinite and current resident of Wauwatosa, I am not entirely surprised by this. The WPD has been terrorizing Black and Brown citizens for decades, culminating in last October’s illegal curfew, militarized occupation of the city, and brutal arrests of dozens of human rights activists following the decision by the Milwaukee County DA to not charge former officer Joseph Mensah for killing Alvin Cole, a 17-year old Black child. It is possible that Mr. Ratkowski turned the list over to the FBI during this time-frame, as the FBI had deployed numerous agents to assist in the illegal operation, including interrogating any protesters held in custody during the occupation.
As of this writing, there have been no investigations regarding the Wauwatosa Police Department’s protester list.