New details emerge in Jude police inquiry

  • Report says Police Supervisor admitted to investigators that he did not know how to handle the scene and allowed suspects  to move around and talk to each other after the crime. [more]
Ryan Packard, one of the Milwaukee police officers suspected in the beating of Frank Jude Jr., unsuccessfully tried to get 9.7 hours of overtime pay because he considered himself on duty during the incident, according to the department's investigative report into the case. Officer Jon Bartlett, who was charged with two felonies, told investigators he cut off Jude's coat to see if Jude had injured his back, the report says. And one of the first on-duty officers on the scene, Joseph Schabel, knew he was responding to off-duty Officer Andrew Spengler's party because Schabel himself had been invited, the 82-page report says. Schabel and Spengler were classmates at the police academy, it says. The department's internal report lays out the most complete picture to date of a chaotic, volatile scene early on Oct. 24 where on-duty officers struggled to control off-duty officers who repeatedly ignored orders and at times seemed to be running the scene themselves. Officer Douglas Marx, who does not face charges and arrived on the scene later, said the on-scene supervisor, Sgt. Corstan Court, didn't give him much direction. He said Spengler and the other off-duty officers were "all over the place." .[more]  and [more]