Civil Rights & Immigration
There is no ‘border crisis’
Just when it seemed we were emerging from the anti-immigrant hysteria of the Trump era, our country is suddenly descending into a new moral panic. The news of the past two weeks has been full of dire warnings about a “border crisis.” A “surge” of migrants heading for the United States is taking advantage of […]
Artists bring the experience of race to Hudson, 30.1 miles from George Floyd Square
In this predominantly white suburb, artists have been arriving since last summer to memorialize what happened 30.1 miles away, outside Cup Foods in south Minneapolis. Geno Okok was among a group of muralists who set out to create a lasting art piece in a place that can seem a world away from George Floyd Square. […]
WPD body camera program a move towards transparency
The Wauwatosa Police Department (WPD) has begun equipping all of its officers with body cameras. In past years only members of the motorcycle unit and, occasionally, supervisors wore body cameras. Pushing the body camera program forward was one of several demands made by protesters who marched in Wauwatosa during 2020. “Several Wauwatosa Police Department personnel […]
Will GOP leaders ‘allow’ Black legislators to honor Wisconsin native Stacey Abrams?
Rep. LaKeshia Myers (D-Milwaukee) is seeking to have the Wisconsin Legislature honor Wisconsin native Stacey Abrams. A resolution Myers is currently circulating recognizes Abrams’ work as a politician in the Georgia House, as a lawyer and as a voting rights activist. It is that later role — continuing the work that was begun with the […]
The Milwaukee Sheriff’s new drone unit
“We want to make sure we are doing everything right, protecting the citizen’s rights along with protecting the sheriff’s office as well,” said Sgt. Andrew Bilda, who commands the newly formed aerial drone unit at the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office. At a press conference Tuesday morning, the Milwaukee sheriff pitched the new unit as a […]
Policing panel brings Milwaukee chief and others to the table
“Community engagement is very big to me,” said Milwaukee’s Acting Police Chief Jeffrey Norman during a town hall panel hosted by All of Us or None Wisconsin on Saturday. A project of Breaking Barriers Mentoring Inc., All of Us or None is an organizing initiative led by formerly incarcerated people and community members affected by […]
Help the Examiner get records from the Kenosha Police
Sunshine Week is over, but the Examiner’s investigations go on throughout the year. Wisconsin’s open records law is meant to allow for members of the public and the press to hold government officials accountable. Sometimes, as we have reported, those officials fight transparency, using a variety of tactics to keep information hidden. Often, government agencies […]
U.S. House passes Dreamers bill over GOP objections, as immigration debate intensifies
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House took up two bills Thursday that would grant legal status to broad groups of immigrants living and working in the United States, including a pathway to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of undocumented people brought to the country as children. The measures mark the first step towards what advocates for […]
Two stalled requests for police records
March 15 marked the beginning of Sunshine Week in Wisconsin. It’s that special time of year to celebrate the open records law in the Badger State, and its role in protecting government transparency and accountability. The ability to obtain internal records and documents from all facets of state government is crucial for journalists and the […]
New attempt in Congress to help Dreamers runs into familiar obstacles
WASHINGTON — Legislation creating a path to citizenship for undocumented people brought to the U.S. as children faces a new border crisis and old partisan objections, diminishing the chances it will become law despite full Democratic control of Congress and the White House. On Thursday, the U.S. House is poised to pass the American Dream […]
Milwaukee PD’s hidden hand in the Wauwatosa curfew
On Dec. 4, 2020, Wisconsin Examiner received a final response to an open records request from the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD). The request sought any video recorded by MPD personnel during the Wauwatosa curfew two months before. It specifically focused on video and images captured by personnel assigned to surveillance and undercover vehicles during that […]
Milwaukee PD’s cell phone monitoring technology
For police departments, tools of the trade sometimes come with big price tags. That certainly describes contracts and purchase orders for two sophisticated pieces of equipment used by the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) to monitor cell phones and access their data. According to documents obtained by Wisconsin Examiner via open records requests to the city’s […]