Two Milwaukee city leaders are demanding answers after TODAY'S TMJ4 exposed a list of more than 100 current and former Milwaukee police officers who may not be allowed to serve as witnesses in court.
This comes after the decision Wednesday to uphold the firing of former officer Erik Andrade who was terminated for that reason. 116 current and former Milwaukee Police Department employees are currently on what's called a Brady-Giglio list. While we don't have their names, we know they've either done something or are accused of something so problematic the District Attorney's office says they may or may not be used in court.
The list of Milwaukee officers might as well have been a secret to Alderman Bob Donovan.
"I was not aware of it, no, so this was news to me," Donovan said.
The same goes for Alderman Terry Witkowski.
"You wonder why they're police officers or why they're still police officers if they're not credible," Witkowski said.
Witkowski and Donovan are both alarmed as they're in charge of the city's Public Safety and Health Committee.
"It's frustrating certainly that we weren't made aware that this exists," Donovan said.
On Wednesday, Chief Alfonso Morales spoke to the Fire and Police Commission about the importance of officers testifying in court.
"By removing that tool, the ability to testify, that basically puts me as a leader of the city of Milwaukee Police Department in a position to say I can't use this officer out on the streets," Morales said.
The District Attorney's office says law enforcement departments across the county, including Milwaukee Police, provide them with the names of officers who are either under departmental or criminal investigation for alleged wrongdoing because it puts their credibility into question. The District Attorney wants their names because if a problematic officer is a witness in a criminal case, by law, prosecutors have to disclose why they may not be credible. It means those officers are often placed on desk duty, not patrolling the streets where Donovan believes they're greatly needed.
"It's hurting the taxpayer, it's hurting this community," Donovan said.
The District Attorney's office says there's a total of 156 law enforcement officers on their Brady-Giglio list, meaning 40 come from departments other than MPD. We reached out to Milwaukee Police and they say they are aware of the Brady-Giglio list.
