The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editorial Board has weighed in on the basketball game attendance ban that MPS enacted after the brawl that sent 50 police squads streaming to Bradley Tech High School on Tuesday night.
The Board is on board with the ban, sort of.
How long to prohibit all students at the affected schools from attending games? Andrekopoulos is pondering whether to keep the prohibition in force beyond this week. Mayor Tom Barrett is pushing for a season-long ban. Our advice: As a rule, keep the prohibition in effect for two games per team the first time and for the rest of the season if there's a second time.
With all due respect, I must say that advice is extremely ill-advised.
Does the Board read The JS?
This is an interesting article:
The Milwaukee police sergeant who called for a citywide assist during a post-basketball game melee at Bradley Tech High School described a crowded, chaotic scene where several youths tossed chairs at officers inside the school's gymnasium and others hurled chunks of ice at officers outside the building.
"Officers used a great deal of restraint in an out-of-control situation," 2nd District Sgt. Geoffry Keen said at a news conference at the south side station Thursday afternoon.
Keen said he called for the response after Tuesday night's game because of the large number of people in the gym and his concern that children attending the game might get trampled.
From 56 to 75 officers were sent to the school, 700 S. 4th St., after an overtime victory by Tech over Bay View High School.
During a victory celebration that erupted when fans poured onto the court, several fights broke out in the stands on the Bay View side of the gym and spread to the court, Keen said.
"From there it just escalated," Keen said.
...Officer Cory Harris, who was among about a dozen police officers monitoring the game, said the "pockets" of trouble kept getting larger and larger and officers were getting separated from each other.
...Harris said he fractured an ankle a short time later at a nearby McDonald's, where a fight broke out among youths who went there after the game.
He said he fractured the ankle when he and other officers took down an unruly youth who refused to leave the restaurant.
This was not a minor incident.
Question: What has changed since Tuesday?
What makes the Board members think that a fitting penalty for the brawl would be to prohibit Tech and Bay View students from attending only the next TWO games?
Why would that little slap on the wrist give anyone confidence that the violence is over?
Furthermore, why would the Board recommend that the prohibition should be extended "for the rest of the season if there's a second time"?
"A SECOND TIME"?
That's nuts!
I think a preemptive strategy is in order.
How many broken bones and arrests are the Board willing to tolerate?
Obviously, too many.
There are cases when a second chance is reasonable.
This isn't one of them.
In defense of Tech and Bay View, the editorial points out that violence isn't something exclusive to MPS.
A fight broke out at the Jewish Community Center Saturday night between students at rival Whitefish Bay and Nicolet high schools. Police said several youths sought medical attention, and three were cited for underage drinking.
Give me a break!
Was it necessary for dozens of police officers to respond to break up that fight?
Were FIFTY squads called?
Those details are relevant when determining the need for the prohibition and its length.
I do feel sorry for the Tech and Bay View girls' teams. It's a shame that they're being penalized as well. It's a shame that some of their classmates are thugs, but they are.
I don't believe the ban is "heavy-handed."
I believe that the sort of wimpy two game prohibition that the Editorial Board calls for is why there is such chaos at MPS in the first place.
Discipline and real consequences for the inappropriate, antisocial behavior is the answer.
There's no need to wait for a repeat of Tuesday's brawl to address the violence.
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