Ed Flynn and John Potter

Last night, Riverwest residents met with police officials to discuss the two recent murders, crime, and other concerns in the neighborhood.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Prompted by two unsolved homicides that occurred 10 days apart in Riverwest earlier this month, about 100 neighborhood residents gathered Monday night to discuss their concerns about crime with police officials.

The shooting deaths of Nathan J. Potter, 21, and Jontae Ramone Woodley, 23, are not believed to be related, District 5 Police Capt. Edith Hudson said during the meeting at Falcon Bowl, 801 E. Clarke St.

Potter and Woodley were both students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, according to university records.

Potter was killed July 6 in the 2500 block of N. Dousman St. Woodley was killed Thursday night in the 1100 block of E. Auer Ave.

No arrests have been made in connection with either case, police said.

Both Hudson and Police Chief Edward A. Flynn said at the meeting that they could not provide more information about the killings because the investigations are still open.

Neighborhood residents who spoke at the meeting expressed concerns about a number of issues, including what they described as slow response times by police officers to some calls for service.

The Police Department responds to high-priority calls as quickly as possible but has shifted its general focus from response times to crime prevention, Flynn said.

...Flynn and Hudson encouraged residents to call police about everything from major crimes to nuisance properties and handed out a sheet with officers' contact information, including cell phone numbers for some.

I think the police chief and other officials deserve credit for scheduling and participating in this neighborhood meeting. These town hall settings allow people to interact with the police, ask questions, and just vent in some cases.

Residents have good reason to be concerned in Riverwest. It's important for citizens, police, and other officials to communicate and address the issues and work together.

It's certainly encouraging that so many residents attended the meeting. They obviously care about their safety and maintaining their neighborhood.

John Potter, the father of one of the murder victims, Nathan J. Potter, said that the police department was doing "an excellent job" overall.

However, he did raise what he believes are problems with Milwaukee County's 911 system.

...John Potter also said someone called 911 about 30 minutes before his son was shot to report that suspicious people were lurking in the area, but said he understood police "can't be everywhere all the time."

This all must be very difficult for Potter. He didn't have the luxury of attending the meeting as just an individual concerned about the neighborhood's problems. He was there as a grieving father.

The stress of that may have had something to do with a rather bizarre exchange Potter had with Flynn just a few minutes after he had complimented the police department's excellent work.

...Potter accused Flynn of inappropriately using humor to address a woman's concerns about a man whom she said appeared to be bringing prostitutes into his apartment.

The woman, speaking into a microphone after Potter finished speaking, said she had spoken with police a number of times and was frustrated because they told her there was not much they could do to address the problem. She said her landlord forced the man out of the building, but the man moved into a new residence a few doors down.

The woman asked why more couldn't be done.

Flynn said that for police, "it's very difficult to knock on someone's door and say, ‘Is that a hooker in there with you?'" Flynn raised his voice and banged on a table while speaking, simulating the sound of a person knocking on a door. Many members of the crowd laughed.

"Alright, that's just not an easy thing for us to handle," Flynn continued.

Potter interrupted from his front row seat, saying, "Is this a comedy routine?"

"No, it's not a comedy routine," Flynn replied.

"Let's have some dignity then, OK?" Potter said.

"Excuse me," Flynn said.

"Yes," Potter said.

"Alright," Flynn said. "The point is that what I just said is true."

Flynn and Potter then began speaking at the same time. Flynn then said, "I'm sorry you're offended."

Potter again said he thought the initial exchange was a comedy routine.

"I'm sorry you're offended," Flynn said again.

"I am," Potter said.

Flynn then said, "The point is, that I'm trying to make, is that we can't very easily just bang on somebody's door and say, ‘We're being told that you have a prostitute here.'"

Without seeing people exchange money for sex, police have no legal basis to act, Flynn said.

I don't know what more Flynn could have done. He apologized for offending Potter.

It seems a bit extreme to me for Potter to accuse Flynn of performing a comedy routine. Nonetheless, I think he should be cut some slack. The poor man just lost his son.

What's odd is that JS reporter Ryan Haggerty devotes so much of his article to the friction between Flynn and Potter.

After the meeting, Haggerty talked to Potter.

"I think our Police Department is first-rate, and I have no issue with the Police Department as far as their investigation," Potter said. "We don't know anything, so that might be premature.

"But I did take issue with Chief Flynn's stand-up comic routine this evening. I thought it was in poor taste and that there was no place whatsoever for jokes in a meeting like this. Whether he was trying to relate it to something or not, I thought the interjection of humor was not called for."

Given that Potter is no doubt still grappling with his son's murder, perhaps he was more sensitive to any lighthearted moments at the meeting, finding them inappropriate.

Potter is certainly entitled to his opinion. He didn't like what Flynn said and did. Fine.

But if the words between Flynn and Potter were the big news from the meeting, then it doesn't sound like much of value was accomplished.

I think it's strange that Haggerty would choose to dwell on that odd aspect of the meeting rather than the substance of the discussion -- addressing crime and making the Riverwest neighborhood a safe place.