Milwaukee Police Department

Police Administration Building

749 West State Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233
http://www.milwaukee.gov/police

Alfonso Morales
Chief of Police

(414) 933-4444

Press Release

Release Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2019 Contact: Sergeant Sheronda Grant
sgrant@milwaukee.gov

Milwaukee Police discuss community concerns regarding vehicle pursuits

In wake of the recent high profile vehicle pursuits, the Milwaukee Police Department is
committed to keeping our streets safe and would like to address the concerns some members
of our community have regarding police pursuits.

MPD takes vehicle pursuits very seriously. We understand that they are inherently
dangerous; however, in order to make Milwaukee a safer place to live, work and raise a
family, Milwaukee Police must apprehend individuals who recklessly disregard the law and
place the lives of others in danger by fleeing from police and/or by arbitrarily driving reckless
through our city’s streets.

Each sworn MPD law enforcement member is certified biennially through the Wisconsin
Law Enforcement Standards Board and receives training in Emergency Vehicle Operations
and Control (EVOC), where they are taught how to conduct vehicle pursuits in the City of
Milwaukee. Each pursuit is subject to oversight during the pursuit itself and if a supervisor
or an officer believes the pursuit is too dangerous, the pursuit may be terminated at any time.
There is additional oversight after the pursuit is completed to ensure members followed the
Department’s Standard Operating Procedure, including a review by our Internal Affairs
Division.

Without an expansive pursuit policy, many criminals could avoid apprehension by simply
driving away. Through a new focus on targeted enforcement of high value offenders under
Chief Morales, we believe the application of our current pursuit policy is a major factor in
the significant reduction in crime, particularly on violent crime and drug-related crime
through the mobile drug market. In 2018, our homicides decreased 16% from 2017 and our
nonfatal shooting dropped 15% (dipping below 500 nonfatal shootings for the first time in
eight years). As of this press release, we have continued that trend with a 24% reduction in
homicides and 23% decrease in nonfatal shootings from this time last year.

Ultimately, we understand that we cannot successfully do our jobs unless we have the
support from the residents of the City of Milwaukee. There must also be accountability from
drivers, from friends and family members who allow their loved ones to use their vehicles
for dangerous driving and from the community as a whole to assist in investigating and
prosecuting those who offend and put our neighborhoods at risk. We are in this together and
welcome your support.

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