Oct 03, 2024
After threatening to take the District Attorneys Office to court, TMJ4 has obtained a full copy of Milwaukee Countys Brady list.The list contains nearly 200 officers a majority (roughly 150) are from the Milwaukee Police Department.The District Attorneys 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.RELATED: TMJ4 battling Milwaukee County DA for keeping Brady list secretOfficials 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 Attorneys 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 cant hide exculpatory information in criminal cases. Its 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 Countys 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.RELATED: Ghosted: Experts say TMJ4 reports raise serious accountability and transparency concernsTMJ4 requested the Brady list as part of its Ghosted investigation.The series involved a Milwaukee County Sheriffs 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 Youre going to f***ing explain to me, just fess up for your people, what the f*** do I owe you people?The Sheriffs 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 doesnt know about, he said.[Editors note: Dave Biscobing is Chief Investigative Reporter for KNXV-TV (TMJ4s sister station) in Phoenix, AZ and a corporate trainer for Scripps investigative news teams. For this story, he can be reached at [email protected]. TMJ4 Lighthouse Reporter Ben Jordan is also reporting on this issue and can be reached at [email protected]. ]Its about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for TMJ4 on your device.Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.Report a typo or error // Submit a news tip
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