Another Day of Outrage; No Justice for Black Man Beaten for No Reason by Milwaukee Police

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Thousands Protest
NAACP Meet with law enforcement officials
The not guilty verdict in the case of three white former Milwaukee police officers accused of brutally beating an unarmed man has exposed a flawed justice system in that Midwestern city. “The system failed in this case,” said NAACP President & CEO Bruce S. Gordon. “There need to be some fundamental changes in the way citizens are treated in Milwaukee when they are involved in the criminal justice system. It’s not just a case of renegade police officers, but a breakdown of the system from top to bottom.”  NAACP officials, including General Counsel Dennis C. Hayes, outlined specific areas of concern, including the need for timely investigations by the District Attorney when there are charges of police abuse, a system for increasing the diversity of the jury pool and improved police training that instructs officers how to handle cases where officers are accused of breaking the law. Frank Jude Jr. of Appleton, Wisconsin was attacked outside of an off-duty police party in 2004. Witnesses testified that Jude was kicked repeatedly and punched in the head, face, body and groin. He suffered ear injuries, two broken facial bones, choke marks, cuts and bruises, according to court testimony. Jude, who is biracial, testified that racial slurs were hurled at him during the attack. The all-white jury deliberated for more than 25 hours before finding three former Milwaukee police officers not guilty on four of five charges. The jury was deadlocked on a fifth charge. Defense lawyers for the accused police officers succeeded in removing all African Americans & Latinos from the jury pool in the case. After meetings with the NAACP, the Milwaukee District Attorney agreed to immediately investigate future police abuse claims to preserve the evidence in these cases. In this case, Jude was not interviewed by the District Attorney’s office for nearly four months, according to Henry Hamilton, a member of the Milwaukee Branch NAACP Executive Committee. [MORE]

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  • Juror Vaso Sasic told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he thought Jude may have suffered his injuries by fighting the officers and getting thrown to the ground.[MORE]
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