Milwaukee, WI – After a five-day trial, a jury acquitted former Milwaukee police officer Michael Mattioli of first-degree reckless homicide on Friday, November 10. Mattioli was on trial for the murder of Joel Acevedo, which took place in April 2020 and was one of the central cases during the 2020 uprising in Milwaukee.

Mattioli’s defense team successfully shifted the focus of the trial away from the 11-minute chokehold. Instead, the bulk of the trial revolved around discussions about Acevedo’s health issues. Ultimately, this strategy proved successful in keeping yet another killer cop away from prison. At the end of the trial, Acevedo’s father, José Acevedo, spoke to reporters and said, “The facts were there. They made their decision, and I totally disagree.”

The outpouring of support for the Acevedo family quickly materialized as dozens of community members gathered in the cold Friday night to hold a vigil for Acevedo. They placed 25 candles underneath his mural to represent each year of Acevedo’s life. Speaking at the vigil, Cecil Lacy, brother of Ernest Lacy who was killed by Milwaukee police in 1981 and spiritual counselor of the Acevedos, stated, “It hurts so bad to see the fight and the struggle, to be around the Acevedo family and to see what they’ve been through for the last three and a half years and for it to come to this.”

“We’re told to trust the system,” said Alan Chavoya, outreach chair of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, “but we then get results like this one. Another cop found ‘not guilty.’ So why are we continuously told to trust such a system?”

The frustrations with the verdict are informed by a long history of cops escaping conviction in Milwaukee and the U.S. in general. It took over three years and an entire movement to even get the killer cop to trial, but all those efforts were overturned in a five-day trial. The Milwaukee community will not accept the verdict, but it won’t succumb to pessimism either. As Chavoya stated, “This is but a hiccup on the long road to justice, and we know that we will get justice one day.”

#MilwaukeeWI #GeorgeFloydRebellion #MichaelMattioli #JoelAcevedo #MAARPR #PoliceCrimes

Organizers and activists across eastern Wisconsin are planning rallies for March 8 in solidarity with Minneapolis and Milwaukee.

Answering the call of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, both the Milwaukee and Wisconsin (serving primarily the greater Fox Valley area, including Appleton, Green Bay and Oshkosh) chapters intend to host protests in their respective communities. Other groups joining the actions are The People’s Revolution MKE, Fox Valley Food Not Bombs, United Action Oshkosh, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

“It’s important that we take to the streets and demand justice for Joel Acevedo, George Floyd, their families, and all those who have been directly impacted by police crimes,” said Alan Chavoya, a member of the Milwaukee Alliance branch. “Unless the people fight back, the status quo remains intact, and the status quo dictates that police can murder Black and brown people and not face charges. The demands are clear: we demand justice, and we demand it now.”

Community organizers aren’t the only people who will be making their voices heard come March 8. Student activists with Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at both UW-Milwaukee and Lawrence University (Appleton) intend to host actions on their campuses to show solidarity in the struggle for justice.

“On March 8, the newly-established Lawrence University Students for a Democratic Society chapter will host an on-campus rally, which shall center on the demands to imprison killer cop Derek Chauvin and charge him with second-degree murder,” said Terrence Freeman, the leader of the new student group.

Freeman continued, “Throughout history, revolutionary students have always fought against injustices and stood in solidarity with oppressed peoples. It is important that contemporary students maintain these traditions by continually demonstrating and fighting for a better world. Importantly, LU SDS will be an outlet to make tangible social transformations both on and off campus.”

#MilwaukeeWI #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #MichaelMattioli #GeorgeFloyd #DerekChauvin

Milwaukee, WI – Three weeks ago, on the morning of April 19, an off-duty Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) officer named Michael Mattioli was arrested for beating someone into an unresponsive state at a party hosted at his, the cop’s, house on Milwaukee’s South Side. Mattioli was booked at Milwaukee County Jail on tentative charges of first-degree reckless injury and strangulation. He was released on April 23 after posting the $50,000 cash bail. Mattioli was placed on administrative duties and formally suspended by MPD after his arrest. He has a court date set for June 10.

The victim, Joel Acevedo, died of the injuries he sustained eight days later, on April 25. It’s unclear how or if these charges will change since Acevedo has passed away. What is clear is that Acevedo’s family is demanding justice and that Mattioli be charged with homicide.

Very little information has come out regarding the murder since MPD and the Wisconsin Department of Justice picked up the investigation. Milwaukee residents familiar with the track record of both MPD and the state DOJ when it comes to investigating and convicting killer cops are concerned that Officer Mattioli will get off free of charges.

“Milwaukee has a long history of holding cops above the law; to the extent that it provoked federal investigation of their police department,” said Omar Flores, an activist in the city. “I have little faith that justice will be served in this case. Certainly not without a movement of people demanding it.”

This tragic situation has raised the memory of another off-duty officer’s beating of oppressed nationalities that took place in Milwaukee in 2004.

Frank Jude, Jr. and Lovell Harris were invited to a party at a Milwaukee Police Department officer’s home where they were subsequently brutalized by a mob of off-duty cops. There was an officer who arrived on the scene in response to a 911 call, but he promptly joined in the beating. What followed eventually resulted in the biggest case against MPD in the previous 25 years (as of 2007, when the legal proceedings concluded).

Nearly a dozen MPD officers were implicated in the criminal assault of Jude and Harris. However, at the state trial in April 2006, an all-white jury acquitted the officers on four out of the five counts they were facing. The acquittal drew prompt community outrage. There were immediate calls for federal charges. Later that month, a crowd of several thousand people marched from the Milwaukee County Courthouse to the Federal Courthouse demanding a federal investigation. A month later, in May 2006, a procession of more than 300 cars delivered a petition to U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic, demanding the investigation. This demand was met and an investigation followed, resulting in a federal trial.

The outcome of the proceedings resulted in at least seven officers being sentenced to serve prison time. Additionally, seven years after the brutal racist assault, Frank Jude, Jr. won a $2 million settlement with the city of Milwaukee.

There are some differences between the two situations, the clearest being that one resulted in the death of the victim, but what is the same is that both situations involved racist attacks by MPD officers. Some justice was won for Jude and Harris. Justice needs to be won, not just for Acevedo, but for the family he left behind.

The Milwaukee Public Health and Safety Committee announced that MPD will be present at an upcoming meeting on May 14 to answer questions about the case. Community members looking to stay up to date and participate in the fight for justice should attend while adhering to proper health guidelines relating to the coronavirus.

#MilwaukeeWI #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #MilwaukeePoliceDepartment #JoelAcevedo #Antiracism #MichaelMattioli