MILWAUKEE — After threatening to take the District Attorney’s Office to court, TMJ4 has obtained a full copy of Milwaukee County’s “Brady” list.

The list contains nearly 200 officers – a majority (roughly 150) are from the Milwaukee Police Department.

The District Attorney’s Office finally released a complete copy of the list, which tracks problematic law enforcement officials, after denying multiple open record requests from TMJ4 this year.

TMJ4 battling Milwaukee County DA for keeping ‘Brady’ list secret

Officials finally produced the information after the news station hired an attorney and threatened to sue the county if it continued to keep the full “Brady” list a secret.

The station is currently reviewing the names and corresponding information and plans to publish the list in the coming weeks. In a letter outlining the release of its own “Brady” list, the District Attorney’s Office did not guarantee its accuracy.

“This office makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of the record: all data should be confirmed by review of public records,” wrote Sara Sadowski, an Assistant District Attorney.”

The “Brady” list gets its name from 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. It’s why many prosecutorial agencies keep “Brady” lists to track law enforcement officers with documented histories of dishonesty, criminal activity, bias, and other integrity concerns.

Milwaukee County’s “Brady” list includes 170 officers, who have either been charged or convicted in criminal cases.

But the list only includes a couple dozen entries tied to internal misconduct investigations.

Legal experts said that raises serious questions as to whether Milwaukee County has been keeping a legitimate and robust list.

Ghosted: Experts say TMJ4 reports raise serious accountability and transparency concerns

TMJ4 requested the “Brady” list as part of its “Ghosted” investigation.

The series involved a Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office deputy with a history of repeated misconduct, including five suspensions, records show. In 2016, the deputy was suspended for going to a Walgreens drunk and making “racially inflammatory remarks” to Black people.

Records show witnesses said he yelled “Why do Black lives matter?” and “You’re going to f***ing explain to me, just fess up for your people, what the f*** do I owe you people?”

The Sheriff’s Office told TMJ4 the deputy was not on the “Brady” list.

In a previous TMJ4 report, ACLU Wisconsin President William Sultan said that conduct should absolutely land on the “Brady” list.

“It also demonstrates a failure on the law enforcement agency to effectively discipline its employee,” he said. “I think we can all agree that people exhibiting racist behavior should no longer be police officers.”

Sultan believes the case also signals much bigger issues with how Milwaukee County tracks officers with integrity issues.

“It means there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of officers in our state that have demonstrated similar bias, untrustworthiness, that the public doesn’t know about,” he said.

[Editor’s note: Dave Biscobing is Chief Investigative Reporter for KNXV-TV (TMJ4’s sister station) in Phoenix, AZ and a corporate trainer for Scripps investigative news teams. For this story, he can be reached at David.Biscobing@TMJ4.com. TMJ4 Lighthouse Reporter Ben Jordan is also reporting on this issue and can be reached at Ben.Jordan@TMJ4.com. ]

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MILWAUKEE — Another Milwaukee family is grappling with the sudden loss of a loved one.

Edward Curran, 66, was killed Saturday after a semi-truck drove into his car that was parked on the side of the road near 108th and Layton Avenue.

Curran’s brother, Stan, tells TMJ4 he and his brother were close.

“He was very kind,” Stan Curran said. “He helped me with my yard, helped me with daily tasks and I also helped him whenever he needed help.”

Saturday morning, Stan Curran spent hours helping his brother get his car started up after it stopped running.

Just a few hours later, he told TMJ4 he opened his front door to Greenfield police bearing unthinkable news — his brother had died.

“My reaction was total disbelief,” Stan Curran recalled.

Police said Edward Curran’s car had stalled again, causing him to park on the side of the road when a semi-driver from Texas crashed into him and then continued into a power pole.

That driver was not hurt and police said he is cooperating with the ongoing investigation.

TMJ4 asked Greenfield police if the driver would be charged but did not hear back.

“It amazed me because it was a beautiful afternoon like today,” Stan Curran told TMJ4. “There was no fog, there was no rain, there were no clouds — I don’t understand how a semi-driver 10 feet above was unable to see a car on the side of the road that was disabled.”

On Monday, Stan came back to the crash site for closure.

“I found a thousand little pieces of car parts. The only possession I was able to locate and find was a seashell,” he said.

The shell belonged to his brother who once lived in Florida.

“He brought back a seashell and it was always on the front of his dashboard. I was able to find that piece of my brother.”

Now, flowers sit on the grass where Edward Curran was last. Stan remembers him for his love for music, the Brewers and his family.

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