The Milwaukee Police Department has a hiring problem.

It can’t find enough recruits to offset retirements and the departure of others. 

Ald. Lamont Westmoreland, who represents the 5th District on the city’s Northwest Side, said residents are feeling the impact.

“Lack of police presence, long wait times on calls, all tied back to the lack of sworn officers that MPD has,” Westmoreland said.

Leon Todd, executive director of the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission, which has primary responsibility in the city for recruiting, testing and hiring new officers, agrees.

“Having more officers and growing the size of MPD will do a host of things to improve public safety,” he said. “Shorter response times, higher clearance rates, more proactive time for officers to do follow up or investigative work and have greater visibility and engagement opportunities in the community all drive down crime in various ways.”

In 2023, the Milwaukee Fire and Police Academy graduated 101 new police officers, while the Milwaukee Police Department lost 112 officers to retirement, resignation or termination, Westmoreland said.

The pace of recruitment is slow again this year, with departures of officers once again outpacing new police cadets.

The city also risks missing mandates that require beefing up the number of police officers in the city as part of the Act 12 Wisconsin funding law or face millions in fines. Act 12 created avenues to implement local sales taxes as a way to pump more money into the budget and offset spiraling costs.

MILWAUKEE – A 31-year-old Milwaukee man has been criminally charged in connection to a homicide that occurred on Saturday, Nov. 23. The victim was found dead in an alley on Milwaukee’s south side. 

The accused, Joshua Santos, is charged with one count of first degree intentional homicide.   

According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police were dispatched to the area of 8th and Becher around 7:30 a.m. for reports of a subject down in an alley. The 911 caller indicated that there was a woman lying in the alley and that it looked like she’d “been dumped there,” the complaint states.

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Officer determined the cause of death as probable asphyxia due to strangulation, per the complaint. 

Detectives recovered security footage from the alleyway. This video captured a light green or light gray sedan, believed to be a Lexus ES sedan. Officials were able to track down the vehicle using the license plate reader database. When authorities arrived at the listed address, they located the 2003 Lexus ES Sedan parked outside.

Per the complaint, the owner of the vehicle told detectives that on Nov. 22 she let a friend of hers known as “Josh Santos” use the vehicle. She stated that Santos dropped her off at work at 2 p.m. on Nov. 22 and then picked her up again in her Lexus that same day at approximately 11 p.m. 

She claims as she exited work on Nov. 22 and went to her vehicle, Santos was in the back seat, with another person she believed to be a female. The vehicle owner indicated that the female was covered by a blanket – and that she smelled a strong odor coming from the back seat. Santos allegedly told her that someone had thrown up in the back seat, court filings say. 

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The owner of the Lexus told investigators she did not see the person under the blanket move or get out of the vehicle at any time.

The owner of the Lexus stated they eventually drove to her residence and remained there until 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. on Nov. 23. She stated when they arrived at her house, the female was still in the back seat, fully covered with a blanket – and that she remained in the car underneath the blanket the whole time they were at her residence. She told investigators she thought the female was just drunk.

The owner of the Lexus claims that between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Nov. 23, Santos stated to her “let’s get ready to go”. The woman stated she got up and they both re-entered the Lexus. Once inside the vehicle, the woman claims she reached back and touched the female and found her to be still, “hard to the touch” and cold, according to the criminal complaint. 

The woman stated she began to drive and followed Santos’ directions going in and out of numerous alleys on the south side of Milwaukee. She stated that while driving in one of the alleys, Santos climbed through the car to the back seat and ordered her to stop the vehicle. The vehicle owner stated Santos then opened the rear door to the vehicle and physically pushed the female out of the car and into the alley. 

According to the complaint, the vehicle owner told detectives that she and Santos then went to a Dollar Tree where she bought “Spick and Span” cleaner and towels. She stated that she and Santos then spent 15 to 20 minutes cleaning the feces and blood out of the car. She stated that Santos did not tell her much about the female, and that “all he told me was, sorry,” the complaint states. 

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After cleaning out her vehicle, she claims she drove Santos to the bus stop at the intersection of Kinnickinnic Avenue and Oklahoma Avenue, where she dropped him off and he exited her vehicle.

In custody

Per the complaint, during an interview with investigators, Santos admitted to killing the victim and dumping her body in an alley. He allegedly told detectives that while driving his friend’s car, he decided he wanted to get some cocaine and drove to the area of 18th and Greenfield on Nov. 22. Santos stated that a woman got into his car at that location, and that she had the “hook up” for drugs and that they needed to find her supplier. They allegedly drove around Greenfield until they found a van and the woman got $40 worth of crack and cocaine. 

Santos told detectives that he snorted the cocaine and the woman smoked the crack cocaine. Santos stated that the reason that he went to this woman is because prostitutes always know where to get drugs, according to the complaint. 

Santos told investigators that the woman then became angry, and was acting weird and wanted “more drugs, more money, more everything,” per the complaint. 

Court filings say Santos stated that he sometimes sees and hears things and that his head was “weird” during that time with the woman. He said something in him “snapped” and he admitted to strangling the victim with a belt. Santos allegedly told detectives he strangled the victim to “get her to shut up, stop asking for stuff” but stated he doesn’t really know and doesn’t really remember why he did it, per the complaint. 

Initial appearance

Santos made his initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Sunday, Dec. 1. Cash bond was set at $350,000. The court also ordered a competency examination for Santos.

MILWAUKEE – There is a significant police presence in an alley behind Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church near 38th and Lloyd in Milwaukee on Monday, Dec. 2. 

Milwaukee police and the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office are at the scene. 

Police investigation at 38th and Lloyd, Milwaukee

FOX6 News has a crew on the scene – and we will update this post when more information is available.