Bradley Tech: Chaos and Cover-Up

On Wednesday, November 10, Milwaukee's Bradley Tech High School was locked down because of a fight.

The incident was reported in the online edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The article was very short on details.

MPS spokeswoman Roseann St. Aubin described the fight as small and said no one had been injured or arrested. It was not clear how many people were involved in the fight.

The school was locked down until about 11:30 a.m. because officials "wanted to send a strong message right away," St. Aubin said.

There was no follow-up by the Journal Sentinel, just this blurb.

So about a month ago, the newspaper reports on a small fight with no injuries or arrests.

That was newsworthy.

Question: Why wasn't the incident that occurred at Bradley Tech on Tuesday, November 30, considered newsworthy? By any measure, it was not a "small fight."

I want to know how a situation that resulted in police arresting about 20 people, seizing a sawed-off rifle and a fake gun, and sending dozens of squad cars to a public school could go unreported.

HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?

NOT ONE WORD REPORTED ANYWHERE. NOTHING! ZILCH!

Until one week later.

Milwaukee Alderman Bob Donovan released a statement yesterday, December 7, revealing the situation. He blew the lid off the cover-up.

Here's Donovan's statement:

Bradley Tech: Guns, Gangs and Public Kept in the Dark

Statement of Alderman Bob Donovan
December 7, 2010

Last week, Milwaukee police arrested nearly 20 people and seized a rifle and a fake handgun at Bradley Tech High School. On Tuesday, November 30, no fewer than 39 squad cars responded to the school between 2:15 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, December 1, 29 squads were assigned to patrol near Bradley Tech between 9 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., and on December 2, 14 MPD squads were assigned to patrol outside the school during periods covering the beginning and end of the school day.

The trouble apparently all started with a fight involving rival gang members. The information I’m relaying to the public was not – to my knowledge – reported by the news media, nor am I aware of any information about the incidents being shared with parents of Bradley Tech students.

It is unconscionable to me that the citizens of Milwaukee haven’t been made aware of this situation at the school, and it’s an insult to all Bradley Tech parents and students that this matter has been kept under wraps. It’s also an insult to the decent teachers and staff at the school, who must work in chaotic and sometimes violent conditions.

In my opinion, what was once a proud Milwaukee high school is now sadly but simply an MPS dumping ground that is tarnishing the fine Bradley family name and legacy that helped build such a fine new, modern school facility.

I believe that it borders on criminal behavior for MPS officials not to have notified public officials about the incidents at Bradley Tech. The residents in the neighborhood have surely been appreciating the stepped up police presence, but they had no idea why it was happening. This is unforgivable, but not surprising to me.

The OpenSky police radio system has essentially eliminated the police transmissions that were once broadcast on scanners. The scanners – once a key tool for news operations to monitor situations and to send reporters and photographers to scenes – have gone silent in Milwaukee. In my opinion, this is keeping a lid on the media’s ability to cover news in the public domain. This is not good, and it’s not the way our free and democratic society should work.

As for the school, I believe it should be treated as a nuisance property, with MPS picking up the tab for the ridiculous level of police presence and babysitting that is going on.

I have a plan for restructuring MPS that is about two years old, and I’ve shared it publicly more than once. But where is the mayor on this issue? Where’s the leadership on this, a top issue for our city that affects the future of our children, of our economy, and the very fabric of our community?

What’s more, we really need to be asking why more than 80 MPD squads are needed at one of our public institutions of learning. Makes me wonder what those students are really learning there.

What the hell?

How could something as massive as this be kept from the public, the taxpayers funding Bradley Tech?

The media either were complicit in hushing up the brawl or they were too busy with idiotic "Speedbusters" and "Dirty Dining" features to know what's going on in Milwaukee.

In either case, the public is not being served well by the local media when they a miss or ignore a story of this magnitude.

Finally, a full week after the Bradley Tech brawl, Donovan's statement obviously forced the Journal Sentinel, TMJ4, WISN, CBS 58, and FOX 6 to report on the story.

Video.



What an embarrassment!

More embarrassing than the media's inexcusable failure to report on this major disturbance at a Milwaukee public school is Mayor Tom Barrett's reaction.

The online Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article doesn't even mention Barrett.

TMJ4 and CBS 58 did get a comment from the mayor.

Here's video from CBS 58.

Here's TMJ4 video.

Mayor Tom Barrett accuses Donovan of not checking facts before going public with the information. However, Barrett said he would want to hear from an administrator if a similar incident occurred at his own child’s school.

“I would want to know, there's no question, I think everyone would want to know,” Barrett said.

WHAT?

Barrett is whining about Donovan not checking facts?

He's angry with Donovan for not contacting Police Chief Ed Flynn and MPS Superintendent Gregory Thornton?

Barrett should be communicating with the public instead of bitching about Donovan. He should be demanding that steps be taken to regain control of the school. He should be angry at the thugs and their thug parents. He should demand that they be held accountable for their actions.

Most definitely, Donovan should not be Barrett's target.

Good grief.

Of course, Barrett is being defensive. The cover-up makes him look dishonest and ineffectual as a leader.

I'm glad Donovan went public. If he didn't, taxpayers would not have been made aware of this most recent major brawl at Bradley Tech. Barrett had a week to address the citizens of Milwaukee about the violence. Flynn had a week to make a statement. MPS had a week to communicate with parents of kids attending Bradley Tech.

Complete silence. No communication whatsoever.

This isn't about Bob Donovan.

It's about a school in meltdown. It's about gangs.

Milwaukee citizens have a right to know about the crime in their city, about the state of the public school system, about the way public officials are dealing with the problems.

It's simply inexcusable for this information about Tech to have been kept from the public.

The Journal Sentinel found out about the "small fight" at Tech on November 10. Does the newspaper only report on fights that are relatively minor? What is that? The media had to know.

Barrett kept quiet about it.

The public wasn't told.

That's wrong. It's a dereliction of duty on Barrett's part.

Parents of students at Bradley Tech, the students that are there to learn and earn a high school diploma, should be really upset that they weren't told. They should be aware of the gang activity at the school and major disturbances. I think 18 arrests and nearly two dozen police squads qualifies as major. The lack of communication by MPS with parents is completely unacceptable.

The taxpayers, the ones funding the school, should be outraged. They're forced to give a significant portion of their earnings to the government. A significant portion of those dollars is used to fund the schools. And this is what they get for that investment?

Chaos.

It's time for Barrett and school official to solve problems, not try to cover them up.