What is the Brady list and how did TMJ4 obtain it?
The Brady list contains the names of officers with allegations of crime, dishonesty, bias, or other integrity concerns. That information has to be disclosed to defense attorneys if a Brady list officer is called to testify. This is because of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case. In 1964, the court ruled in Brady v. Maryland that officials can’t hide exculpatory information in criminal cases.
That list remained a mystery in Milwaukee County until TMJ4 hired an attorney, battled the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office, and won.
For the past five months, we’ve partnered with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and a non-profit newsroom called Wisconsin Watch to investigate names on the list.
The Brady list we received last fall only contained basic information. Name, department, criminal case numbers if charged, when they were added, and brief descriptions for violations like ‘integrity’, ‘untruthfulness’, and ‘theft’.
There was no summary of allegations, corresponding records were redacted, and a majority of their employment statuses were left empty.
“Could you explain why?” Jordan asked Milwaukee County District Attorney Kent Lovern.
Watch Ben Jordan's report: Milwaukee County Brady list reveals names of 191 officers with alleged credibility issues:
“Our list, as our attorneys view it within the office, contains links to information the attorneys are able to access them and turn over in a courtroom if appropriate to the defense lawyer, if in fact one of these officers is a member of the trial we're moving forward on,” D.A. Lovern replied.
“So that information is kept, it’s just not on the spreadsheet we received?” Jordan asked.
“I think that's accurate, yes,” D.A. Lovern replied.
In response to our open records request for the Brady list, the D.A.’s office wrote it, “makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of the {Brady list}.”
After receiving the list in September, we partnered with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Wisconsin Watch to begin filling in the blanks.
Our five-month-long investigation uncovered inconsistencies on the list.
Five officers on the list we got in September are dead, another officer had his criminal case expunged and two officers never worked for the department next to their name.
We got an updated version of the Brady list last week. D.A. Lovern took seven names off the list after we asked about them.
“What does that tell you about the completeness and accuracy of Milwaukee County’s Brady list?” Jordan asked.
“I just don't think it's accurate,” said Bridget Krause with the state’s public defender’s office.
"That it's not there, that they don't have an accurate list."
Who is on the list?
The list contains 191 total officers. Roughly two-thirds are from the Milwaukee Police Department. The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office has the second most, but nearly every suburban police department across the county has at least one current or former officer on the list. The list includes names, departments, infraction or allegation and whether they still work for the same agency.
(Click here if the list does not load)
Milwaukee police documents show former officer Kevin Zavadil attempted to file a false hit-and-run crash report while off-duty and tried to get an investigating officer to pause his body camera on scene.
"If you lie, that is a cardinal sin in law enforcement,” said Wisconsin Professional Police Association President Jim Palmer.
According to MPD documents, former officer Daniel Garcia was accused of lying to investigators in 2014 about an off-duty fight that resulted in the ‘false arrest of several citizens.'
Internal police records show M.P.D. officer Kenton Burtch marked down $1,177 worth of overtime he didn’t work.
Over the next several weeks, we’ll show you stories about specific officers on the Brady list, like Milwaukee Police Detective Nicole Swenson.
Court records show she was arrested by her department last May and accused of obstructing an officer and endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon while under the influence. The misdemeanor charges came after police found her at the scene of her vehicle smashed into a median.
"She's on full suspension, so I am disappointed in regard to that this is a particular situation that this member has found herself in,” Chief Norman said.
We’ll also share stories about officers who aren’t on the list, raising questions about whether it’s missing names.
"There's no way I would even trust his testimony,” said hit-and-run victim Monica Nash.
One year ago, our ‘Ghosted’ investigation exposed a Milwaukee County Sheriff’s deputy named Shawn Bacich for a botched investigation into a hit-and-run.
"The deputy did a poor investigation,” Sheriff Ball said.
A deeper dive into his record revealed he had been disciplined eight times and suspended five times. One of those suspensions came after he was accused of making ‘racially inflammatory remarks’ to Black people while off-duty at a Walgreens.
Internal records show Bacich admitted to investigators, “I did make racial comments that were, as far as me paying taxes for minorities."
He also got suspended after he was accused of passing a counterfeit bill at a bar.
"If Bacich isn't on there, then you know that there are dozens and dozens of other officers that should be on that list that are not,” said civil rights attorney William Sulton.
Officials respond
There are a lot of reasons why officers landed on the Brady list. That’s why our investigation raises a lot of questions for the highest leaders in Milwaukee County’s criminal justice system.
In late January, the chief judge, district attorney, Milwaukee’s police chief, and the Milwaukee County sheriff agreed to do a joint interview on the subject.
"I certainly agreed with turning it over once it was turned over,” District Attorney Kent Lovern said.
“Why did your office not want to release the full Brady list until we got a lawyer involved?” Lighthouse journalist Ben Jordan asked.
“This has been actually an attorney work product because it really is a list only created by our office for use of by its attorneys and so generally that's how we've always viewed it like we have a lot of other materials in our office that are purely attorney work product,” D.A. Lovern replied.
The list we received shows about 80 percent of entries on the Brady list are for criminal charges or convictions. The rest are for internal violations. 22 officers are on it for multiple reasons and dozens are still on the force.
"Somebody can just make a mistake and so and if that's the case then their employment is retained,” Sheriff Denita Ball explained.
Police officers’ testimony is often key evidence that sends someone to prison. That’s why we believe the public deserves to know about the full Brady list, who’s on it, and whether they’re taking the stand.
“How often are Brady list officers called to testify? Is it rare?” Jordan asked.
“I don’t know the answer to that,” D.A. Lovern replied.
Public defenders say because of our investigation, they’re already noticing a difference.
"The two notifications I've received were just this year, within the last month I received notification, but before then I have not received any notifications from the Brady list,” said Angel Johnson with the Milwaukee County Public Defender’s Office.
During our interview with Milwaukee’s police chief and the Milwaukee County sheriff, we learned their departments don’t tell their law enforcement officers if they’re on the list.
"We don't ask about the Brady list, sir,” Chief Jeffrey Norman said.
Chief Norman said in late January that he doesn’t even know who’s on it.
“Should you know who’s on the Brady list?” Jordan asked. “No,” Chief Norman replied.
What's Next?
There’s no statewide Brady list and there are no state laws for if or how those lists should be kept.
"It really is the wild, wild west in Wisconsin,” Palmer said.
It’s important to note that every officer we’re profiling in this series has been notified of our investigation and offered an opportunity to do an interview.
Over the next several weeks, we will be answering a lot of questions. Why was the full Brady list kept a secret for so long? Is it missing officers? And are police departments and prosecutors fulfilling their duty to disclose?
See all Duty to Disclose stories as they are posted here.
The Brady list is a compilation of current or former law enforcement officers deemed by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office to have credibility issues. The underlying allegation can range from lying on exams to violent crimes. Just because an officer is on the list does not mean he or she was necessarily convicted or charged with a crime, or found guilty of internal misconduct. According to the office of District Attorney Kent Lovern, some cases may have resulted in an acquittal, been dismissed, or were amended to non-criminal offenses. The office says, "the database is accurate to the best of our knowledge as of February 27, 2025."
About this project
“Duty to Disclose” is a joint investigation by TMJ4, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Wisconsin Watch. The collaboration was prompted by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s decision in 2024 to release its “Brady List,” a closely-guarded list of law enforcement officers with alleged credibility issues, after pressure from the news organizations.
TMJ4 Lighthouse reporter Ben Jordan, Journal Sentinel investigative reporter Ashley Luthern and Wisconsin Watch investigative reporter Mario Koran spent four months verifying the hundreds of officers on the list, discovering that it is frequently incomplete and inconsistent.
Readers with tips about the Brady List are encouraged to contact reporter Ben Jordan at ben.jordan@tmj4.com.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.