Dear Loxley,
This morning, the ACLU, the ACLU of Wisconsin, and the law firm of Covington and Burling, filed a federal lawsuit,
Collins vs. City of Milwaukee, to challenge the Milwaukee Police Department's unconstitutional stop-and-frisk practices.
You can watch the press conference via Facebook Live today Wednesday, February 22 at 9 a.m. CST at facebook.com/ACLUofWi.
For years, the Department has engaged in a massive stop-and-frisk program that has resulted in widespread stops that are not based on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and that involve the routine targeting of Black and Latino people because of their race or ethnicity.
The plaintiffs in our lawsuit are six individuals who have been stopped while doing nothing wrong walking to a friend's house, visiting family, pulling into a gas station, and walking home from campus. Their stories, along with the police data that we have so far on significant racial disparities in the Milwaukee police's stops, show a department that treats innocent people as if they are criminals, tramples on the rights of communities of color in Milwaukee, and engenders fear and suspicion of the police that hurts their ability to investigate crime.
We hope this lawsuit will end the Milwaukee Police Department's unlawful stop-and-frisk program and make police operations more transparent and accountable to the public.
If you believe that you have been stopped and/or frisked when walking or driving, or have otherwise had your civil rights violated during a traffic and/or pedestrian stop by Milwaukee Police since 2011, the ACLU wants to hear from you.
Tune in to our press conference at 9 a.m.
Thank you for supporting our work.
Sincerely,
Molly Collins
Interim Executive Director
ACLU of Wisconsin
