Published 

MILWAUKEE - It is a fight over safety and your tax dollars; a fight between Milwaukee's police union and the city; a fight over contract negotiations that will end in arbitration.

Fight over safety, tax dollars

What we know:

The Milwaukee Police Association, the union for the city's police officers and detectives, blasted the city for what happened in Milwaukee Police District 7, which is one of the busiest parts of the city, and includes sections of Capitol Drive and Fond du Lac Avenue on the city's northwest side, 

On social media, the union posted that the entire police district on Tuesday night, June 10 had only one patrol squad. Milwaukee police said that is not accurate.

What they're saying:

"It’s a safety issue for my officers. "It’s a safety issue for citizens," said Alexander Ayala, president of the Milwaukee Police Association. "The problem is this is becoming more and more the norm."

"On the surface, it’s like, all right, there’s one squad. Where the hell is everybody else at?" asked Milwaukee Alderman Lamont Westmoreland, whose aldermanic district includes some of MPD District 7. "It seems like something is broken. I know there’s a shortage."

"If it is true, it is unacceptable," said Common Council President Jose Perez.

The Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) issued a statement on Thursday, June 12 stating the information in the social media post was "inaccurate."

However, MPD did admit that the department's scheduling documents "failed" to list all squads covering the district. 

"On that day, Milwaukee Police District Seven had three hospital guards to staff, two sick calls, three limited duty officers inside, one officer on other excused union time and one at drone training.  The lineup failed to reflect all squads taking assignments.  District 7 also had a two-person captain’s car, and a one-person DV [domestic violence] car patrolling and taking assignments. Additionally, we had a late shift officer stay over and called in a day shift officer to backfill to patrol and take assignments. There are also resources from other districts if needed that would be available to assist," MPD stated.

Dispute over pay

What they're saying:

The police union said this situation is just part of a growing problem – and it blames the pay.

The current Milwaukee police union contract expired at the end of 2022. While the union and the city did negotiate, they were unable to reach a deal. Now, arbitration will decide the feud between the city and the union. 

The mayor's spokesperson, Jeff Fleming, called the union's social media post "disingenuous." 

"Milwaukee is actively recruiting new police officers, and the current compensation is competitive," said Fleming." For the time being, we will reserve additional comment as a new contract with the MPA is pending."

Dig deeper:

The police union points to the police academy classes, which are not even close to being full. 

MPD recruits get the equivalent of $47,000 a year. After graduating from the academy, that bumps up to $63,000 a year. 

Data from the union shows Brookfield pays police academy recruits more than $11 more an hour than Milwaukee pays its recruits.

"This is why you’re having staffing issues. Why would you want to leave whatever place you’re working at to make less during the academy, to wait six months to start making even less? I’m going to go to Brookfield. I’m going to go to Muskego. It’s ridiculous," said Ayala.

Milwaukee's budget plans three classes of police recruits – 65 per class. 

"I think the police department is doing what they can for recruitment. Clearly, we have goals that are not being met," said Milwaukee Alderman Peter Burgelis. "We were expecting three full recruitment classes this year, and we’re graduating about half of what we have the capacity to graduate."

"Personally, I know officers that have left MPD, that are working in suburbs, as they age or they get burned out with the amount of work they deal with in the city of Milwaukee," said Westmoreland. "They’re being paid more to go work in safer communities."

The Source: The information in this post was gathered by FOX6 News and includes information from the Milwaukee Police Department, Milwaukee Police Association, the mayor's office, and Common Council members.