Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn had some explaining to do at a public meeting in Gordon Park.
The police response to the beatings and robberies by a mob of young people in Riverwest has been criticized by the victims and witnesses.
Naturally, the community is concerned about the lawlessness.
This video shows the reason for the concern:
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
The police response to a weekend rampage by about 60 young people who beat and robbed a smaller group that had been watching fireworks from Kilbourn Reservoir Park "may not have been our finest hour," Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn told an audience Wednesday evening.
Flynn's comment preceded an account of the assault by a woman who was among the victims. The woman, who identified herself only as Jessica, drew applause from the crowd of about 200 after describing how police made her and her friends feel at fault for simply enjoying a holiday weekend at a public park.
"They told us to leave and started kicking us out of the park," she told the audience at the Gordon Park pavilion.
"It was then that we realized that no one got a chance to make statements except the two who required medical attention, even though there were 19 of us who had witnessed something a bit different. They did not even take our names and phone numbers to call us at a later time."
Later, Flynn invited any other victims or witnesses in attendance to provide their accounts to officers after the meeting, which he called to address heightened community concerns after several violent robberies and the looting of a gas station in the neighborhood late Sunday night and early Monday.
Earlier, police reported that several parents contacted them to report their children as suspects in the looting of the BP gas station at 1030 E. North Ave.
As of Wednesday afternoon, four teens had been cited with disorderly conduct, theft and curfew violation after their mothers called police. Three were girls - aged 13, 14 and 16 - and one was a 15-year-old boy.
Police are seeking at least 22 suspects who ransacked the gas station early Monday. Police have identified seven people in the looting, and charges are pending against the four who were turned in and two others.
They're also seeking more information on a series of beatings associated with six armed or strong-arm robberies against 11 victims in the Riverwest neighborhood around the time of the looting. There have been three arrests in the robberies.
Police have still not said the looting and the beatings are connected, although they might involve some of the same people. Several of those injured described being attacked by a mob that subjected them to racial taunts. The injured were white; the attackers were African-American, witnesses said.
The police response to the rampage "may not have been our finest hour"?
Note to Flynn: It most definitely was not the department's finest hour.
Furthermore, the way Flynn is handling the situation at this point is not good.
He's acting personally offended by criticism, as if he thinks people are being unfair to the police.
Flynn will acknowledge mistakes "to a certain extent," but then he turns around and lectures the public. He seems pissed off at what he calls "talk-land and blog-land," accusing people of inciting racial divisiveness.
Here's video of the Gordon Park meeting, from WISN.
I don't think Flynn is being fair. He's playing the race card, trying to turn criticism of his department's response into something sinister and inappropriate.
Expressing concern about victims being mistreated by police is appropriate.
I think legitimate questions are being asked by citizens. They shouldn't be marginalized and dismissed as racist.
Interestingly, the JSOnline article about the Gordon Park meeting doesn't allow comments.
What's that about?
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More video:
Police Chief admits to shortcomings in town hall meeting on attacks
Victims Describe Mob Scene In Riverwest
Some Parents Turn In Their Children After Riverwest Incidents
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