Milwaukee, WI
MPD drone program expansion planned; transparency concern rises
MILWAUKEE – Fighting crime with eyes in the skies – the Milwaukee Police Department is looking to enhance public safety with drones.
What we know:
MPD is looking to expand its airborne assessment team.
Sgt. Christopher Boss said the team officially launched just before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last summer.
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He and another officer operate exterior and interior drones as seen in this video. They’re used for crime scene management, crash reconstruction and missing persons cases, as well as keeping a watchful eye on protests and events.
“This is a tool we can use to make sure we’re all safer,” Boss said. “Several weeks ago there was an incident, and it was the recording from this particular incident that prompted the district attorney to issue a certain type of charge.”
Dig deeper:
MPD has six drones, but they want more. They want each district to be covered by one drone operator.
They want to use $250,000 of federal forfeiture funds to expand its two-person drone pilot program.
“We’re hoping to train up to 18 pilots, 14 deployed at the districts and four deployed from specialized patrols,” Boss said. “Prior to the application, every pilot will need to be certified by the FAA as a remote pilot.”
The particular models are valued at $15,000 each.
MPD said, in some capacity, the drones will serve as body cameras in the sky, with officers now frequently requesting assistance following suspects in high-speed chases.
“The majority of our patrol-led calls to date have involved vehicle pursuits,” Boss said. “The end of the vehicle pursuit, reckless vehicle or someone wanted for some sort of crime, like an armed robbery, leads us on a pursuit and at the end of the pursuit, everybody runs.”
The other side:
However, the purchase doesn’t come without some concerns. The Milwaukee Fire & Police Commission discussed it in April.
“I think the public is like, ‘Big Brother is watching,’” said chair Miriam Horwitz.
“The public, also me, I have a lot of worries,” vice chair Bree Spencer said. “I get it for water rescue. I’m very worried for things like protests.”
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What’s next:
Boss said the drone will not have facial recognition.
They hope to have the drone team fully operational by the end of the year. Prior to doing so, the department said it will launch a transparency dashboard for people to see their flight paths.
The Source: The Milwaukee Police Department and Milwaukee Fire & Police Commission provided information for this report.
Milwaukee, WI
Food trucks in Milwaukee brace for new curfew
MILWAUKEE — Saturday is the start of the food truck curfew in downtown Milwaukee. That curfew was passed by the Common Council to address safety concerns after several violent incidents.
Alma Juarez is with Tacos Almita on Water Street in downtown Milwaukee. Juarez said since the city passed the curfew, she’s had just over two weeks to adjust.
“We’re trying to think what we’re going to do,” said Juarez. “Maybe we’re going to start in another place or move the food truck after 10 p.m., but that means we have to start over again.”
She said that means she may also have to start building up a news customer base.
“Moving the truck means that… we have to struggle,” said Juarez.
Juarez is not alone in worrying about her financial future.
Last Thursday, a group of owners took their concerns to city hall. Jennifer Martinez, who’s with the food truck known as Tacos El Pastorcito Mixe, was at that demonstration. She said the late-night hours make up roughly 75% of her revenue.
“During the day, I’ve tried opening very early in the morning — 8 a.m. 9 a.m. — it doesn’t make a difference. There’s no… we don’t have much sales throughout the day,” said Martinez.
Ald. Robert Bauman represents downtown and was the sponsor of the ordinance.
Last week he told Spectrum News that he’s aware of the economic burden the truck operators are facing. However, he said safety concerns are a bigger priority.
“And MPD (Milwaukee Police Department) has said on the record repeatedly that food trucks are a major contributing cause for the loitering and disorder that takes place on Water Street,” said Bauman, who represents District 4 in Milwaukee.
He said he’s willing to take a hit on food trucks and prioritize the concerns of larger businesses.
“If they feel that downtown is not safe anymore, they’ll either not come at all, or they’ll leave as soon as their event is over with and not spend any additional money in the downtown area,” said Bauman.
But Juarez said the city shouldn’t have to do that. She said she believes food trucks aren’t the cause of the problem.
“You can see it in any places, but not here,” said Juarez. “It can happen here, but not in front of the food trucks cause they are saying that a lot of violence, a lot of the things that are going on is in front of the food truck. You can see that all the shooting happens after 1 a.m. or 3 a.m. Last shooting, it was after 1 a.m.”
Food truck owners said they hope to continue to turn a profit after the ordinance starts, but they said they face a potentially tough financial future.
Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee man charged in fatal shooting near 20th and Burleigh
MILWAUKEE – A Milwaukee man is accused of shooting and killing a 32-year-old after a hit-and-run on the city’s north side in April.
In court:
Milwaukee County prosecutors charged 25-year-old Daniel Evans with first-degree reckless homicide and two counts of felony bail jumping. He’s being held in the Milwaukee County Jail on $100,000 cash bond.
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Court filings said Evans was out on bond for two different felony cases at the time of the shooting. He’d previously been convicted of misdemeanors in two other cases.
Milwaukee County prosecutors also charged 22-year-old Joshua Evans with harboring/aiding a felon in the case. He’s being held in jail on $15,000 cash bond.
Daniel Evans, Joshua Evans
20th and Burleigh
The backstory:
The shooting happened on April 23. The victim, who the medical examiner’s office identified as 32-year-old Terry Brown-Maben, died at the scene near 20th and Burleigh. A criminal complaint said police found nine bullet casings there.
What they’re saying:
A witness told detectives that he and Brown-Maben had just left a liquor store when an SUV rear-ended them at 20th and Hopkins, according to the complaint. He said the crash snapped his car’s axle, and he was upset but told the people in the SUV to “just pull over” because he did not want to make a big deal of it. At the same time as the witness was talking to a passenger in the SUV, he said Brown-Maben was talking to the driver.
Scene near 20th and Burleigh (April 23, 2026)
Court filings said the SUV drove away, and the witness and Brown-Maben began to walk because their car was left inoperable after the hit-and-run crash. A short time later, the witness said the SUV came back, and the passenger started to shoot at them.
The complaint said the witness told detectives that he took Brown-Maben’s gun and hid it after the shooting, adding he did not see Brown-Maben with the weapon before the shooting. The witness was also “adamant” that there had been no confrontation between them and the people in the SUV after the crash.
Shooting investigation
Dig deeper:
Court filings said detectives watched surveillance video that showed an SUV turn near 20th and Burleigh, after which there appeared to be a muzzle flash from the passenger side of the vehicle. Video from the liquor store and a nearby gas station showed the SUV with front-end damage, and showed Joshua Evans getting out of the driver’s door.
Detectives showed the witness photo lineups in an attempt to identify the driver and passenger in the SUV. Court filings said he identified Daniel Evans as the passenger and shooter, but he did not identify Joshua Evans as the driver.
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Police ran the SUV’s license plates, and determined Joshua Evans was the registered owner. When detectives interviewed him, he said he thought he might have been at work or “with a female” that night but identified himself and Daniel Evans in surveillance video from the liquor store.
Another person told police that she spoke to Daniel Evans. According to the complaint, that person said Daniel Evans told her “Josh” hit someone’s car and there was a “shoot out.” When police showed her pictures of the SUV from the liquor store surveillance, she said she “thought it was Josh’s.”
Five days after the homicide, police interviewed someone who was arrested on unrelated charges. Court filings said he told police he’d bought his gun from “the Evans brothers” for $200. Ballistics tests of that gun determined it matched the casings recovered at the homicide scene near 20th and Burleigh.
The Source: FOX6 News went to the shooting scene after it happened. Information in this story is from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office, Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court.
Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee FPC meeting; to talk Flock cameras, MPD’s ‘use of force’ policy
MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission will meet on Thursday night, May 7, to discuss a number of items – including the use of Flock cameras, along with a resolution to tweak the Milwaukee Police Department’s current use of force policy.
Flock cameras
What we know:
Concerns over the use of flock cameras to fight crime – that’s one of the big topics set for discussion at tonight’s FPC meeting.
The cameras have faced push back from the community after prosecutors charged an MPD officer for misusing the technology in March.
Prosecutors allege Josue Ayala used Flock cameras to track a romantic partner and that partner’s ex. They say in the span of a month, the officer searched the pair 179 times. In February, prosecutors charged Ayala with attempted misconduct in public office.
A number of Common Council members wrote a letter expressing “serious concern” to the Milwaukee Police Department over the use of Flock cameras.
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In the letter, the Milwaukee aldermen said they had serious concerns about what they call “a lack of adequate guardrails, auditing, supervision and transparency.”
During Thursday’s meeting, the Milwaukee Police Department will be fielding questions from members of the FPC – including what guardrails are actually in place to avoid potential misuse.
“We also understand, especially from a recent situation, that we can do better. We understand that we have to put in more robust checks and balances,” said Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman.
Use of Force
What we know:
There are more possible changes coming to how Milwaukee police officers report the use of deadly force.
The modification to the use of force policy is specifically targeted at how and when officers must report the use of deadly force.
Under the current version of MPD’s standard operating procedure, a use of force report must be completed when a department member discharges a firearm. It excludes training situations, or if and when a member points a firearm at a person.
The potential change would include when a member “draws or displays a firearm (including a shotgun or rifle) to effect an arrest or seizure of a person.”
The resolution is sponsored by Alderman Peter Burgelis, who said in a meeting last month this essentially restores a recently deleted requirement previously in place.
Additionally, during Thursday’s meeting, they are also expected to dicuss the ongoing debate over MPD’s chase policy.
The Source: FOX6 News obtained Milwaukee Police Department data and utilized prior coverage.
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