Schoen was fired by Police Chief Flynn in 2011, after he was caught on a police squad camera beating Jeanine Tracy, who had been arrested and handcuffed.

The commission meeting opened with commissioners standing by their decision to re-instate Schoen, citing his ‘good’ prior record. The community was completely appalled by this decision. 15 individuals, including Jeanine Tracy, testified in the public comment session of the meeting. The testimonies included everything from poems and personal stories to powerful condemnations of the MPD and Chief Flynn.

Chief Flynn was present during the meeting. He remained silent and was often texting on his phone. The crowd occasionally broke into chants and some carried signs. As a result of the meeting, the Commission agreed to revisit the reinstatement of Schoen in the next Commission meeting.

“The decision of Commission to reconsider their decision shows the power of organizing and taking the struggle to the streets. The people were in complete control of the commission meeting. It was absolutely beautiful,” states community activist Peter Adamczak.

The next Police and Fire Commission meeting will take place this Tuesday, Dec. 11 at 8:30 a.m. at Milwaukee City Hall. The City Hall is located at 200 East Wells Street.

#MilwaukeeWI #PoliceBrutality #DerekWilliams #PoliceChiefFlynn #MPDOfficerRichardSchoen

Milwaukee, WI – On Oct. 7, dozens of people came together to challenge Police Chief Flynn and the Milwaukee Police Department on the murder of 22-year old Derek Williams.

This event, as well as others, comes in the wake of the release of new autopsy and video evidence that led to a homicide investigation of Milwaukee Police's District Five. Milwaukee Chief of Police Edward Flynn responded to the investigation, saying police would not be prosecuted and the officers involved would likely not be fired for their involvement Williams’ killing.

Many of those present at the event were family of Williams. Levi Mcdonald, Williams’ cousin, said, “I'm here to challenge injustice in Milwaukee and across the country. Someone needs to be held responsible for the death of Derek Williams. You cannot have a homicide without someone being held accountable. We want the officers prosecuted, and for Chief Flynn to resign.”

“The police will continue to do whatever we allow them to do,” he added.

Taking the microphone, another relative, Michelle McDonald, holding back tears, said, “All we want is justice. We love Derek and miss him and know we'll get justice and peace as long as we keep working together.”

In a show of defiance, organizers marched into the streets for nearly 20 blocks despite not having a permit, as the police eventually gave way and cleared traffic for those attending. The march route concluded, in the street, at the location of a recent homicide shooting in the community on 9th and Arlington.

Students from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee came out in a showing of solidarity. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) organizer Tiffany Strong said, “I'm here to stand in solidarity with those who have been the subject of police repression and brutality in this city. We cannot ignore acts like this, and by building a united movement, we'll see justice served.”

#MilwaukeeWI #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #SDS #PoliceBrutality #policeKilling #UniversityOfWisconsinMilwaukee #MilwaukeePoliceDepartment #DerekWilliams #PoliceChiefFlynn

Milwaukee, WI – 50 people chanted “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Chief Flynn has got to go!” outside the Third District Police station on 49th Street and Lisbon in Milwaukee, Sept. 28, during rush hour. They were protesting the death of Derek Williams while in police custody .

Williams' death in July 2011 was originally ruled as due to natural causes. The medical examiner had to re-examine the case following an expose in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. After reviewing the video tapes from the police squad that show Williams begging for help as he suffocated over an eight minute period, the examiner changed his ruling to homicide. Since the tapes were made public, calls have grown for an independent investigation and for justice for Derek Williams. On Sept. 27, over 400 people gathered at the Milwaukee Brotherhood of Firefighters hall to console the Williams family and to call for justice.

At the Sept. 28 protest, Brian Verdin reiterated the demand for the resignation of Police Chief Flynn, District Attorney Chisholm and the police lieutenant (not named) who saw the tape last year and did nothing. A group of the protesters walked out into the traffic along the crosswalk on North Avenue with signs demanding justice for Derek Williams while others gathered in front of the police station or distributed leaflets about upcoming protests. After about two minutes they cleared the crosswalk and let the traffic pass. Many drivers honked in support. Channel 4 went live at 6:00 p.m. or so. Channel 12 followed the protesting crowd as it took a walk around several blocks of the neighborhood calling for the neighbors to join them. Channel 6 also covered the protest.

Occupy Milwaukee members joined the protesters, who ranged in age from 2 to 85 years. Lucille Berien,a long time activist, said that this case reminded her of other cases, like Ernest Lacey, who died in similar circumstances roughly 30 years ago. She added, “Things need to change.”

#MilwaukeeWI #PoliceBrutality #InjusticeSystem #DerekWilliams #PoliceChiefFlynn