Bradley Tech Erupts -- AGAIN

UPDATE: 15 arrested after Bradley Tech fight

As many as 15 students were arrested after a fight at Bradley Tech this morning, including one who was accused of battery to a police officer, according to Milwaukee police.

District 2 Milwaukee police Lt. Marianne Rodriguez said one student was resisting arrest when an officer, 35, was hurt after a fight between two girls broke out at the school about 10 a.m. today. Police responded after about 100 students gathered to watch the fight and refused to disperse, according to school district officials.

The officer planned to seek medical treatment for minor injuries, according to Rodriguez.

She said the other arrests included seven for fighting, four to six for truancy and one for obstructing.

Police reports at District 2 this afternoon indicate that 27 students would be suspended.

Rodriguez said six to eight squads would remain at the school throughout the day.

Six to eight squads keeping order at a school? Wouldn't one squad be sufficient? How explosive is the situation?

It's unacceptable that those resources are being used to police a school rather than having them out on the streets.

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It was "CODE RED" at Bradley Tech High School this morning.

The school was on lockdown and a heavy police presence was called in to control the situation.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

School district officials are investigating at least one fight that broke out this morning at Bradley Tech High School, where about two dozen Milwaukee police cars responded to campus.

Most students have returned to the building. Police remain at the campus.

Roseann St. Aubin, spokeswoman for Milwaukee Public Schools, confirmed that some fights broke out and that Milwaukee police were called because some of the school's own safety aides were attending training off campus.

Jeremiah Mertens, a freshman who was leaving the school shortly after the earlier disturbances, said students were yelling "East side, west side," and estimated that students were fighting on all four floors of the school.

"There's crazy stuff going on in there," Mertens said. "I was on my way to the bathroom. It was just madness."

At least two students who were locked out of the building after an earlier lock-down were arrested by police. They said they were not involved in the fighting and had been told earlier by police to leave the building.

...At 10:55 a.m., administrators announced the change of class and said if students do not change classes in an orderly fashion, they would join the 13 students already outside, "whether you have a coat or not."

The Journal Sentinel provides this update:

School officials just announced that order has been restored at Bradley Tech High School, after a fight at the school earlier in the morning led to a larger disturbance and more than 20 Milwaukee police squad cars responded to the school.

Roseann St. Aubin, spokeswoman for Milwaukee Public Schools, said at Bradley Tech that the incident began as a fight between two girls in a common area that quickly drew about 100 other students. Some other fighting and scuffling followed, she said, but there were no injuries reported.

St. Aubin said school officials are sorting out possible discipline, including suspensions, for about a dozen students. She said some others had been arrested on truancy or resisting arrest charges.

Some of the safety aides at Bradley Tech were away at training this morning, St. Aubin said. While she said she was a little surprised by how many police arrived, she said the school district is not questioning the department's response and appreciates the help.

I certainly wouldn't fault the police response. It may seem a bit excessive to have twenty squads report to the scene, but Bradley Tech has had some high profile brawls.

In January 2007, there was the "family affair" fight turned brawl at Bradley Tech.

Police and Milwaukee Public Schools officials are blaming a cellular phone for causing a fight to escalate at Bradley Tech High School on Milwaukee's south side last week.

The school district said adults were called to join the fight. Some even showed up with small children in tow.

...[A]ccording to MPS, some girls who were fighting used their phones to call for backup.

[Peter Pochowski, a Milwaukee Public Schools Safety Coordinator,] said cell phone calls invited three carloads of outsiders to the fight.

"For those responsible persons, cell phones are not a problem. It's those irresponsible people, those students who call their family members who then call other family members, and have the audacity to come into a school," Pochowski said.

When the fists stopped flying, six teens and five adults were cited.

At the end of that same month last year, there was the Bradley Tech - Bay View brawl after a basketball game between the two schools.

An overtime victory by Bradley Tech over the visiting Bay View High School basketball team Tuesday night sent hundreds of fans onto the court, sparking a disturbance that injured four police officers and two students and led to at least 10 arrests, officials said.

A female spectator suffered a seizure at the height of the disturbance and required medical attention at the scene, Milwaukee Public Schools spokeswoman Roseann St. Aubin said.

Dozens of Milwaukee police officers from all parts of the city were dispatched to the school, 700 S. 4th St., about 9:30 p.m. after the end of the game, in which the Tech Trojans defeated the Bay View Redcats, 82-81.

Lt. Alfonso Morales of the Milwaukee Police Department's Criminal Investigation Bureau said four police officers and two female students, one of whom had the seizure, suffered minor injuries.

The disturbance "was the result of fans rushing the court to celebrate and students from Bay View not being too happy about that," Morales said.

"Tech won the game, and then some kids from Bay View jumped a Tech kid," said Myisha Milton, a Bradley Tech ninth-grader.

The Police Department issued an all-city call upon hearing reports of the disturbance, resulting in a widespread police response, Morales said.

Watch video of the brawl.

FIFTY squads were sent to that scene. FIFTY.

There have been other problems at Bradley Tech; much lower profile incidents, but disturbing nonetheless.

For example, from April 26, 2007:

A 15-year-old boy remains in custody today after school officials at Bradley Tech High School followed up on a tip that allegedly led them to a loaded handgun and marijuana in his locker.

Police were called to the school, 700 S. 4th St., about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Officers arrested the student on charges of possession with intent to deliver and possession of a dangerous weapon by a child, according to Milwaukee police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz.

Schwartz said there are officers assigned to the school, however, they were at a district station processing another arrest from the school that occurred earlier in the day.

Bradley Tech is no dump. It's a $50 million state of the art facility. The late Jane Pettit donated $20 million as the lead gift to renovate the school.

The students who attend Bradley Tech are being offered a tremendous educational opportunity.

And in spite of being in this incredible learning environment, some students there prefer to behave like thugs.

They are literally throwing away their futures when they throw away their education.

No one can say that the problems at Tech can be traced to students being trapped in a decrepit facility.

The fact that Bradley Tech students are so fortunate to have the opportunity to get a quality education makes these brawls all the more disturbing.

Hand opportunity to these students on a silver platter and they don't take it.

As far as today's incident goes, it's troubling to hear that a disagreement between two girls can quickly escalate into a brawl 100 students strong.

According to St. Aubin, "some of the safety aides at Bradley Tech were away at training this morning."

That sounds kind of lame. How many aides does the school have? How many were away? Is she suggesting that if those safety aides had been there police wouldn't have been needed?

Whatever.

This morning's trouble is just another indication of what a mess Milwaukee is.

What's the problem? No hope?

Isn't a $50 million public school a sign of hope?

Apparently not.