Tuesday, July 8, 2025
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Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Milwaukee Press Club 'Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism' 2020 & 2021 Award Winners

State Rep. Brostoff: Milwaukee Police Are Violent Bullies & White Supremacists

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Wisconsin State Rep. Jonathan Brostoff, a virulently anti-police Democrat who represents parts of Milwaukee, has called the two Milwaukee police unions that represent all officers and supervisors “violent bullies” engaging in “violent, thuggish White Supremacy.”

Brostoff’s tirade was posted to his Facebook page in response to a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which reported that the unions were accusing new City Attorney Tearman Spencer of “dereliction of duty” for pushing a $750,000 taxpayer-funded settlement with Bucks player Sterling Brown, who was tased at a Walgreen’s when he refused officers’ orders to take his hands out of his pocket.

Dale Bormann Jr., MPA president, declined to comment when asked for response.

“This is violent, thuggish White Supremacy at the highest levels in Milwaukee and we must defeat it!” railed Brostoff.

“The Milwaukee Police Association and Milwaukee Police Supervisors Union continues to push this pro-police brutality crap and they must be stopped. This disgusting hit piece against City Attorney Tearman Spencer is also an attack on our city and if they are successful now it will continue the morally abhorrent and outrageous pattern of horrific and racist ‘policing’ that has plagued our community for far too long! Let your leaders know to hold strong against these violent bullies and that we need this accountability and transparency if we’re ever going to move forward as a community.”

Here’s the post:

Brostoff milwaukee police

In a press release on the same topic, Brostoff called the union leaders “unelected extremists” who “allow a diseased status quo to continue unchecked.”

Brostoff is closely aligned with the People’s Revolution and other Black Lives Matter protest groups, and many of his social media posts recently have trashed local police. For example, he shared a post about accused Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse being released on $2 million bail, writing, “This is a terrorist. But because they like his ‘politics’ they treat him like a hero. Remember, Kenosha law enforcement agents supported him, actively chose not to arrest him while they did go after others for ‘curfew violation’ and let him walk free after murdering multiple people. He should not be free and every LEO who supported his terrorist activity should be, at the very least, fired and questioned for their behavior.”

That comment is highly misleading. There’s zero evidence that Kenosha officers who encountered Rittenhouse knew he was the shooter at that time. It was an incredibly chaotic, active situation. There’s no evidence that Kenosha officers supported any “terrorist activity” by Rittenhouse, who was cleaning up graffiti and protecting a business before the shootings. Rittenhouse’s lawyer has claimed self defense, as the first man he shot was chasing him, the second man he shot had struck him with a skateboard, and the third man he shot was moving toward him while holding a gun.

On November 22, he wrote, “Let me get this straight. When a peaceful protest comes through Tosa they have all the equipment and resources in the world. They are throwing out spike strips like it was candy on Halloween, they are using high-tech surveillance and spying on folks, etc.” He added, “One a mass shooter, at Mayfair Mall (tons of cameras) and they may have gotten him days later.”

Police arrested the suspect, a 15 year old Hispanic teen from Milwaukee, on Saturday night. The shooting occurred on Friday afternoon.

The Milwaukee Police Association and Milwaukee Police Supervisors Organization wrote previously that they have lost confidence in new Milwaukee City Attorney Tearman Spencer’s ability to fairly represent their members, after it was revealed that Spencer wants to settle a lawsuit filed by Bucks player Sterling Brown. They’re accusing Spencer of “disturbing and blatant violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct.”

The two unions are demanding outside counsel to represent their members at city expense in the case and are asking that the Common Council wait to vote on the settlement until they receive such counsel.

“We have no confidence in your ability to legally and ethically represent our members on, at the very least, this case,” the union wrote Spencer. The Nov. 14 letter, which was obtained by Wisconsin Right Now, was signed by Dale Bormann, MPA President and Carmelo Patti, MPSO President,

The unions accused Spencer of taking action that was unprecedented and could potentially affect their members’ future job prospects.

Spencer, a U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore ally, recently ousted Grant Langley from the position Langley held for decades.

We previously published a story revealing Spencer’s rationale for settlements after obtaining messages he sent to a constituent and interviewing him on the topic. “…the Sterling Brown matter is more for the people…but everything that’s done helps a little,” Spencer wrote the constituent in the context of discussions about racial injustice toward blacks. ESPN reported that Spencer wants the city to settle Brown’s civil rights action for $750,000.

The police unions wrote Spencer that the Brown settlement “involves not only the Milwaukee Police Department Chief of Police (former Chief Alfonso Morales, in his official capacity) but also eight individuals, six of whom are current members of the MPA and MPSO.”

They added: “It has come to our attention that there is a pending resolution related to this matter scheduled for November 16, 2020 before the Judiciary and Legislation Committee. Based on numerous local and national reports, there has already been a tentative settlement reached by the plaintiff and your office.”

They continued:

As the attorney representing our members, you are duty bound both by the Milwaukee Code of Ordinances and the State Bar of Wisconsin Rules of Professional Conduct to competently and ethically represent your clients. While the extent of your disturbing and blatant violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct in this and other matters exceed the scope of this letter, it is obviously, and perhaps intentionally, apparent you have failed to satisfy your responsibilities to competently and ethically represent our members in this lawsuit.

The unions alleged these failures:

You have intentionally failed to discuss any potential settlement with our members. We found out about the potential settlement from the news. To date, you have never asked for our members’ opinion on a settlement offer. You have intentionally failed to provide a copy of the potential settlement to our members. To date, our members have never seen a copy of the potential settlement despite the fact they are bound by its terms. You have intentionally failed to include our members in any mediation efforts.

The unions focused on news reports saying that the city would admit “a constitutional violation.”

“While it is unclear what the admission entails because you have also intentionally failed to provide this document to our members, it obviously is referring to the Milwaukee Police Department and/or our members,” the unions wrote. “It is an alarming precedent as we are not familiar with the city ever settling this type of action while admitting such liability. More importantly, on behalf of our members, we are deeply concerned about how it affects their future employment and personal liability.”

 

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“In Washington County our budget cycle starts right now, and it’s not due until November. We will propose our budget goals to the County Board in the next couple of months. We will share ‘This is what we’re thinking.’ It gives them months of time to think those through, give us feedback, and [have] that kind of dialogue,” Schoemann explained in an interview on News Talk 1130 WISN.

Schoemann said that is far better than the approach Evers is taking again this year.

“That’s not how government is supposed to work,” Schoemann said. “It’s not the vision of the governor. It’s not the vision of any one person.”

Evers and the Republican legislative leaders who will write the budget have been involved in on-again, off-again budget talks this month. On Thursday, the governor’s office said those talks were off once again because of gridlock in the Senate.

“Ultimately, the Senate needs to decide whether they were elected to govern and get things done or not,” Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback said in a post on X.

Schoemann’s criticism of Evers is nothing new. He has long been a critic of the governor and has turned that criticism up since launching his campaign for governor.

But the recent criticism was also aimed at other Republicans who may jump into the 20206 governor’s race later this year.

“Nobody else in this race on the Republican side, being rumored to this point, has the executive leadership of skills and history to be able to show ‘This is how I’ve done it before, and here’s how we’ll do it Madison,’” Schoemann said. “The results in Washington County speak for themselves.”

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Businessman and veteran Bill Berrien is also on the short list of likely GOP candidates for 2026.

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Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said Republican Legislative leaders backed out of negotiations after he agreed to “an income tax cut targeting Wisconsin’s middle-class and working families and eliminating income taxes for certain retirees.” He said Republican leaders would not agree to “meaningful increased investments in child care, K-12 schools, and the University of Wisconsin System.”

Republican Assembly leaders said the two sides were "far apart. Senate leaders say Evers’ desires “extend beyond what taxpayers can afford.”

“The Joint Committee on Finance will continue using our long-established practices of crafting a state budget that contains meaningful tax relief and responsible spending levels with the goal of finishing on time,” said a statement from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Assembly Finance Co-Chairman Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam.

Evers said that there were meetings between the sides every day this week before the impasse.

“I told Republicans I’d support their half of the deal and their top tax priorities – even though they’re very similar to bills I previously vetoed – because I believe that’s how compromise is supposed to work, and I was ready to make that concession in order to get important things done for Wisconsin’s kids,” Evers said.

Senate Republican leadership said that good faith negotiations have occurred since April on a budget compromise.

“Both sides of these negotiations worked to find compromise and do what is best for the state of Wisconsin,” said a statement from Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, and Senate Joint Finance Co-Chairman Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green.

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Born previously estimated that Evers’ budget proposal would lead to $3 billion in tax increases over the two-year span.

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The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division announced it is investigating California for violating Title IX by allowing males to participate in female student sports.

“Title IX exists to protect women and girls in education,” said Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for Civil Rights. “It is perverse to allow males to compete against girls, invade their private spaces, and take their trophies.”

In February, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning males from participating in female student sports, and he has threatened to block California's federal funding for continuing to defy his order. With California facing deficits in the tens of billions of dollars each year, it's unclear how the state would offset any losses or pauses in federal funding.

Notably, California Gov. Gavin Newsom hosted conservative pundit Charlie Kirk on his podcast and told Kirk that he thinks it’s “deeply unfair” that boys are participating in girls’ sports.

When asked later at a press conference what this means for state policy, Newsom demurred, painting the matter as a marginal, non-issue not worth his time.

“You're talking about a very small number of people, a very small number of athletes, and my responsibility is to address the pressing issues of our time,” said Newsom.

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Title IX was signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1972 to ensure that schools could not discriminate against female students. It requires they be provided with equal opportunities to engage in athletics, extracurriculars and education.

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“As a result of CIF’s policy, California’s top-ranked girls’ triple jumper, and second-ranked girls’ long-jumper, is a boy,” wrote the DOJ. “As recently as May 17, this male athlete was allowed to take winning titles that rightfully belong to female athletes in both events.”

“This male athlete will now be allowed to compete against those female athletes again for a state title in long, triple, and high jump,” continued the DOJ. “Other high school female athletes have alleged that they were likewise robbed of podium positions and spots on their teams after they were forced to compete against males.”

Should the DOJ find California is in violation of Title IX, it says it will “take appropriate action to eliminate that discrimination, including seeking injunctive relief.”