A year ago, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, TMJ4 News and Wisconsin Watch, with support from the Fund, published the Milwaukee County district attorney’s list of law enforcement officers with integrity violations, allegations of dishonesty or bias, and past criminal charges. It was the first time the full list had been made public, and there were numerous errors and omissions in the list. Since then, local defense attorneys say they’ve noticed prosecutors giving more frequent notifications of officers with credibility issues. But they argue that the criteria of what gets an officer on the list remains too narrow – excluding officers who should qualify – and that there is still too much inconsistency among county prosecutors about when and how they share information.
One year after grantee investigation, Milwaukee DA’s office has improved how it notifies defendants of problematic police officers, but gaps remain
