Thugs - a thug profile

2/17/2007: Was former MPD Officer James Langer a thug in cops clothing - being protected by the 'thuggish culture' within a Milwaukee Police Department?! (Read about it.) February 5th, 2007 - 67th & North - several Black teens harass a White man on a Milwaukee County Bus -- one thug amongst them reboards the bus and attacks the man --- "When asked by police and interviewed by Milwaukee County Transit System security officials shortly after the incident, none of the estimated 50 passengers said they witnessed the attack." January 5th, 2007 - 6th & Capitol (area) - Up to 19 teens, young adults and adolescents rape an 11 year old girl The comments of the mother of the 14/15 year old juvenile reported here are so egregiously typical of these most 'at-risk' kids that they had to be included (by reference) at this 'thug' site. This indicates the enabling behavior of the parent that encourages rather than discourages the most dysfunctional of behaviors constantly evidenced within Inner Cities throughout our country. 2/15/07 update December 27th, 2005 - 36th & Hampton - Up to 15 teens and young adults beat a man in the street [ Numerous callers to a highly popular Milwaukee radio talk show related incidents of being confronted or attacked by teenagers in the greater Milwaukee area - many relating how the Milwaukee Police Department blew them off or did nothing when called. ] October 19th, 2005 - 37th & Meinecke A group of up to 9 nascent teens and pre-teens attack a 62 year old man walking home from shopping at a big box Jewel-Osco store - the attack happening across the street from the store -- the Milwaukee Police Department do not want to handle it in other than the normal, slow to respond, too late to protect anyone else, bureaucratic "it's not our neighborhood, why should we care" fashion. October 24th, 2004 - S. Ellen and E. Rusk (Bayside) - 17 Milwaukee police officers participate in a drunken mob beating of an innocent Black man 2/28/05 Charges filed • 2/18/05 update & Criminal Complaint PDF file October 12th, 2004 - S. Kinnickinnic River & E. Lincoln - 49 year old homeless man beaten to death by three thugs October 11th, 2004 - 27th & Fond du Lac - 18 year old man attacked by five thugs on a county bus - one attacker a 16 year old girl. These thugs attacked the 18 year old over his cell phone on a crowded bus. The Journal-Sentinel newspaper article in the Metro section of Friday's paper (10/15/04) reported that another similar incident occurred the same day on another bus at 17th and Fond du Lac - the security camera helping identify the thugs. October 10th, 2004 - 13th & Meinecke -- 50 year old woman attacked by three youth - one a 16 year old girl. This incident was reported last night by the local CBS News affiliated station, Channel 58. The woman was reportedly walking by the house where the thugs were selling drugs and was attacked when she refused to buy any - the thugs kicking her while she was laying down. The thugs were arrested by the police after being spotted peeking around the corner of a house by the woman during her interview at the scene. (Staying at or returning to the scene of the crime is quite common for thugs - they getting high off all the 'official' activity associated with their negative behavior. September 29th, 2004 - Fond du Lac & Center & 27th 48 year old man attacked by teen mob - pushed into path of bus 10/6/04 - 6 boys charged in attack of man hit by bus. (The main article also summarizes other recent mob attacks.) September 22nd, 2004 - 75th & Glendale 82 year old woman shot in face by gang of teens. September 19th, 2004 - 17th & Congress 76 year old disabled woman terrorized by thugs for 2 weeks. 9/24/04 - Seniors fearful; ivory tower professor isn't. July 30th, 2004 - 37th & Highland Blind woman hit and robbed by three thugs The article includes updates on other incidents. July 29th, 2004 - 13th & Keefe Up to 20 thugs beat three others A young woman interviewed on TV indicated this one involved someone 'refusing the homosexual advances' of another. First reports indicated less than a half-dozen people were involved - today's news indicated the victims were brothers and the mob of thugs involved up to 20 individuals. July 27th, 2004 - 41st & Lloyd 18 teenage thugs arrested One of the TV news stations showed a home video of the more than a dozen police involved in the swoopdown Sunday or Monday. The area being one I'd long been walking through - the next block north being one with the highest number of voters in the 2004 Presidential Election at 64. While this area has at times been associated with graffiti and has had the appearance of thuggish activity, I'd never been accosted or otherwise bothered when picking cans in that area over the past 16 years - it is just around the corner from where I was accosted by the two 12 year olds with the dogs, though; maybe those kids were associated with the others. (There was overtly aggressive activity against me on that other block on 8/5/2005 - in a year when a whole lot of aggressive activity, mostly Black on Black, was being evidenced.) There were four squads in the area on June 1st and another four unmarked squads were seen driving toward that area a week ago. Maybe this latest 'group arrest' was a result of those earlier acitivities. July 20th, 2004 - 5th & Keefe Drive-by bicyclist kills 15 year old 2:30 am-: The eyewitnesses and others interviewed by the television news crews reported that the teens in the van had just left a fast food place and were throwing french fries at the bicyclist as they drove by him. He caught up to them at a stop light and began yelling - eventually pulling out a pistol and firing at them -- hitting and killing the 15 year old girl. A woman (mother or aunt) and brother were shown on TV at a house that had the first digit of the address missing from the holder - the woman pleading with the shooter to turn himself in before (he became another victim of violence). (7/22: more) July 10th, 2004 - 40th & Brown Intimidation by Rotweillers 1:00 pm: This potentially fatal incident began during my walkabout east up North to 28th, south up 28th to Brown and west along Brown toward the Washington Park Library. While walking by 40th and Brown, a group of kids, two with very big and bulky Rotweiller dogs, were congregated on the sidewalk outside the fence of the single family home on the northwest corner - presumably conversing with people they knew inside the fence at that location. As I walked by, one of the kids said something to the effect that, 'You shouldn't be walking (around) here, (man or White man or ???)' -- implying that I was either in danger similar to that of the 54 year old man beat to death this past Sunday or because I was White man in a Black neighborhood --- the term 'White' was among the various mumbled words spoken while I walked by ---- me ignoring them all. Ignoring negative comments made to or about me as I walk by various thugs in the Inner City has proven to be the best strategy to minimize or avoid violent confrontations. I always respond to and encourage the vast majority of positive comments, that being one of the primary reasons for my walkabouts in the first place. It's only the thugs who make the negative comments - every so often, a small child not yet old enough for pre-school will make some comment such as, 'That's my can.' or 'Leave my can alone.' as I pick it up from the gutter. I usually thank him (or her) for their contribution and continue on noting the confused expression left behind - and the location of yet another household where elders are imparting their thuggish values onto their children. A couple minutes later, as I picked up cans around the small grocery store where Brown, Lisbon and 41st streets intersect, one (presumably) 12 year old white shirted adolescent brought his large dog to within a few feet in front of me - a large white delivery truck was parked parallel to Brown to my right rear. After I stood up, I asked him if he was threatening people with his dog. He didn't answer, but smiled while the other red shirted similarly aged and slightly stockier youth came up behind me along side the deliver truck with his dog and said, "Chase me now, bitch." Turning to ask him the same question, I recognized him as being the taller, older and bolder youth who'd confronted me with the 'goose' net yesterday in Washington Park. 1:07 pm (estimated): Neither of them answered my question but were obviously hostile and moved the dogs closer to me when I asked them to do the opposite. Realizing that they were looking to escalate this situation into violence (probably hoping someone would do something to set the dogs off to attack me), I proceeded inside the store to get dial 911 - doing so about 1:08 pm or so -- me actually going back in to check the time at 1:12 pm after waiting outside several minutes. Although the boy from yesterday had stated that he lived in the house directly across the street facing 41st, they had both returned to the house facing 40th and were congregated with the other kids at the rear yard side gate talking with an adult woman and man inside the fence. Eventually, they and three or four of the smaller kids began walking the dogs through Washington Park to Lloyd and disappeared up 44th behind the Washington Park Library - probably taking the alley parallel to Lloyd over to 45th before getting to Lisbon -- me being pretty sure, now, that they live on the 2100 block of 45th Street. After going back inside to request the store clerk to tell the police squad I'd left to walk up Lisbon to follow the kids, I walked up Lisbon to 45th and thence back down Garfield to 44th and thence back around the library to the store to see if the police had ever come. While walking back next to the bus stop enclosure next to Washington Park on Lisbon and looking back to see if the squad was coming, I noticed the two youths walking together six feet behind me - without hinting that I recognized them and seeing a grin on their face possibly indicated that I, like most White people in their stereotypical thinking, couldn't recognize one Black person from another. Taking advantage of that possible misimpression on their part, I gave no hint at recognizing them and continued toward the store. 1:29 pm: The digital clock in the store read 1:29 pm when the clerk told me that the squad had still not come. Going back outside to keep track of where the two boys were while waiting for the squad, they now knew that I knew they were there and stood on Brown between the store and the house on 40th waiting to see what else I was going to do - me becoming their entertainment of the day. A few minutes later, the squad came down Lisbon. I waved at it and tried to signal the officers that there were two youth now running to hide from them - each in the opposite direction of the other. The squad ignored my signaling and stopped in the parking lot of the store aimed away from where the kids had run - they obviously had seen both the kids run away, the red shirted one north up 40th from Brown and the white shirted one across an empty lot or large side yard next to a house behind the store. The officers wanted to spend several minutes having me relate to them what I'd already told the 911 operator until I convinced them that stopping the kids while they were still around WITHOUT HAVING TO ARREST THEM was the priority of the moment. The squad went around the neighboring blocks while the two kids got back together at 40th and Brown - the man at the corner house now telling the woman in the yard (with me hearing) where they were as he spotted them. As soon as the squad reappeared, the kids then ran together north up the alley between 40th and 39th from Brown toward Lloyd - the kids obviously having better eyesight and awareness than the officers in the squad -- I had to let the officers know where the kids had just run --- eventually seeing the red shirted one run through the yards between Brown and Lloyd to disappear somewhere around 41st. By that time, it was a lost cause and I asked to get inside the squad to begin relating today's and yesterday's incidents. While giving my facts, the Black female officer in the passenger seat took notes while the White male driver listened. Some criticisms of the officers behavior and attitudes I have are: while implying that my following the youth was wrong, they later said they could do nothing without having an address where the kids lived - meaning that the police want us to give them the information needed to resolve the problem but don't want us to gather that information on our own AND AREN'T GOING TO DISCOVER IT ON THEIR OWN; she indicated that I should stay away from these kids even though I told them I'd lived in the neighborhood for 54 years; after stating that she was saying, in so many words, that I should move out of the neighborhood, he said that she didn't say that -- no she didn't say that, but she did state that I was the one who should change my lifestyle to accommodate the thugs rather than the other way around; the officers expressed not the slightest interest in identifying these young thugs - even after several mob beatings by UNKNOWN THUGS have taken place within District #3 within the past two weeks. Given the disinclination of police officers to identify thugs when they can be found, it's little wonder thugs feel empowered by their anonymity. The ongoing MPD training and policy for officers on the street, as it has been for the past 16 years, is to REACT TO CRIMINALITY rather than attempt to prevent or even minimize it. Their motto needs to be changed from Protect and Serve (the citizenry who pays their salaries) to React and Record (the evidence for the Judicial System that also is being paid for by the citizenry.) 1:49 pm: Finally arrived at the Washington Park Library after this 40 minute 'yet another incident with thugs' delay. (I'd also checked the clock in the library a half hour earlier while following the boys bringing the dogs home but didn't jot down the time to remember it.) July 7th, 2004 - 19th & Brown Wednesday afternoon - Mob Beating This tragic mob beating IN BROAD DAYLIGHT AT 1:00 PM began with a shoving match between a couple nascent teenagers - the supposed loser going back to gather his fellow THUGS to come back and beat the supposed 14 year old winner - one THUG a 31 year old adult -- another THUG using a two by four (the odds of 20 to 1 weren't enough for this coward.) 7/22: beaten teen emerges from coma, 7/16: three ?men? charged (I wouldn't call anyone ganging up on a 14 year old a man!) and 7/9: up to 20 people involved July 4th, 2004 - 27th & Richardson Sunday night - Mob Beating 12/16/05 - Jury convicts teen in fatal beating 6/9/05 - Permit denied for rooming house 3/10/05 - 5 recant their confessions. 9/24/04 - 5 charged in beating death. August 9, 2004 - Six arrested in fatal beating This beating death involved a 54 year old man who liked to walk around his own neighborhood with his bible - he living in a Group Home in the area where people with his limited abilities could enjoy as much independence as possible. What's notable about the neighborhood where this killing happened is that the Non-Profit Center, Making Connections Milwaukee Initiative, Neighborhood House, Volunteer Center and his own West Samaria, group home are located in the area - one would think with that many supposedly helpful resources in the area, almost every resident would already be a part of the solution rather than a part of the problem inside Dysfunctional Neighborhoods like these. (more) The scene of the crime, where the memorial cross and flowers are located, is to the bottom right of the last panoramic photo between the telephone pole, tree and stop sign. June 26th, 2004 - 37th & Garfield Saturday night - Mob Beatings (unreported by print media) Although reported extensively by several TV News programs, this incident was ignored by the local Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel newspaper. According to people they interviewed on camera, it involved up to 60 local residents stopping and attacking two teens in a car that had intentionally come and gone through the intersection hitting other kids with the car. Even the kids in the car were from the area, apparently, they being seen driving through the area many times previously. Milwaukee County Sheriff deputies responded to this incident. Don't know if the Milwaukee Police Department ever did - I've yet to hear even one word acknowledging that it ever happening from anyone inside MPD or even the local newspaper -- a strategy that seems to work to keep almost everyone else in the community from knowing about it, also. September 28th, 2002 - 21st & Brown Sunday night - Charlie Young Mob Beating Death This is the infamous beating that made national news because it involved a mob of males from the ages of 10 to their late 20s - all who had been building up to the beating death for more than five hours before it occurred in another neighborhood infested by on-street drug dealing. This Sunday afternoon and evening incident occurred just two blocks south from where I had stood that very same afternoon to take a picture of the steep spired church at 20th and North and only 24 hours after a similar semi-mob situation on our own block. A 36 year old man was beaten to death on the front porch of a house facing the alley-like lane - a house where the occupant refused to open the door to 'get involved' in somebody else's business. The mob of twenty ranged in age from 10 years to 32. (The range on our block was from 12 to 21 and also involved around 20 individuals.) Their out-of-control situation evolved over an 5 hour period - it was still light out when the kids were seen walking around gathering up shovels, sticks, branches and other 'street' weapons. The victim wasn't attacked until around 10:30 pm. September 27th, 2002 - 40th & Meinecke Saturday night - Mob Beating !NOT! Larry, a 14 year old living in the upper flat 2 houses north of the webmaster, was involved in another glass breaking incident last night around 8:30. He and another boy were threatening each other with bottles from one side of the street to the other (in the front yard of the house the webmaster sold in 1998). Larry eventually went back to the alley to get more bottles from the blue recycling carts to smash them on the street - once while another young man was carrying a baby across the street. The webmaster went to put shoes and socks on and returned to the street to knock on doors where most of the 15 teenagers on the street at the time lived - the rest being strangers to the block. He couldn't find any adults at any of the flats. One mother came up the street later and was told that her daughters were going to get in trouble staying out on the street with the others while the disruptive activity was ongoing. They'd already gone inside the house a few minutes earlier after being told the same thing. One young man claimed to be 21 but wouldn't provide an ID to prove he even lived on our street. He was drunk and drinking out of a glass bottle with clear liquid in it. He claimed to be responsible for the half-dozen kids sitting on the front porch of the middle of the three disruptive houses but claimed that he wasn't contibuting to the delinquency of a minor by merely watching Larry throw and break the bottles - they hadn't been witnessed encouraging Larry but could have been presumed by their mere presence to be an 'accepting' audience accomplishing the same thing. At around this time, the webmaster went up to the kids congregating on the front steps of the house he had sold in 1998. He gave his speech to the 'good' kids who lived there about their flat becoming associated with gang behavior and them suffering the consequences for having sat by doing nothing in the meantime. After some of the 'stranger' youth in this potential mob made some threatening verbalizations to the webmaster, he asked them whether they were threatening him. They didn't respond but did begin arguing amongst themselves and some of the other kids who lived on the block - some maybe defending the webmaster's concern about the out-of-control behavior being evidenced and causing all the interference in their Saturday night teen gathering. (The webmaster's intentions during the entire door knocking, kids talking episode was to remove the audience and thereby the motivation for most of Larry's disruptively violent behavior - having no other responsible adults around to help made that process much more difficult and time consuming.) Later when the mother of some of the more well behaved teens arrived on the scene, the webmaster had a 15 minute discussion with the her about how they could get in serious trouble for having a potential mob gather and form in front of her house - merely by them doing nothing to prevent it. This mother had just been dropped off by her mother and father, who were less than pleased to witness the disrepectful language and demeaner shown by their grandchildren toward the webmaster. (One of this mother's brothers was a Milwaukee Police officer.) Another drunk highly disrespectful 21 year old, who had driven his nice white car up after the glass had been broken and couldn't park it on the other side of the street after numerous attempts finally got it parked on the other side. He joined in with the disruptive teens - shouting and asking why his Auntie should even be listening to a WHITE man. He eventually drove off drunk, without a shirt on, after his grandparents expressed disfavor with his demeanor and language. (This mother had her two youngest kids come inside then and again after the police left and the disruptive, although non-glass breaking, street behavior began anew. Their house, again, served as the congregating point for teenagers not living on the block. A new batch of teens arrived after 10:00 pm - kids who had lived on the block more than a year ago - this new group being one that had lived in the house next door (directly across the street from the webmaster) that was trashed by them and was just now being re-rented to another individual. Eventually, by 10:30, only Larry and his 2 friends were on the street. The webmaster stayed outside sitting on the front steps until they quieted down to some semblance of self-control. After the police were called, two adults associated with the upper flat where Larry lived drove up - seemingly drunk, also. The woman claimed that the boy in the white shirt (Larry) didn't live in her flat even though he'd been witnessed entering it within the hour and on prior days. Later, while he was sitting on her lower from steps, she called him Larry and told the webmaster to get away from the front of her house - she being on the upper front porch with the male at the time. After informing her that the sidewalk was public property, the webmaster eventually moved away. She also asked if the webmaster had a gun at home - implying that he'd need it if he continued discussing Larry. He asked her if she was threatening him - she then saying, "No." In any case, almost everyone involved with the disruptive behaviors, teen and adult, got the impression that the webmaster was waiting for anyone to make the first move to attack or otherwise justify a more violent (or official - they, like many others seeing a 'White man' in the Inner City, thinking him to be a policeman) response from him and more serious trouble for them. The upper flat mother said as much when Larry came off the porch toward him in some sort of threatening stance - it being ignored by him but attended to by his 'presumed' mother. [ It was subsequently discovered that Larry was on probation! Had that been known and HAD LARRY AND HIS MOTHER KNOWN THAT THE WEBMASTER (and Block Captain) KNEW THAT, maybe his behavior would have been a lot less disruptive on the block - meaning that the entire probation system makes no sense when people in the community, especially Block Captains, aren't made aware when potentially disruptive individuals are let out on probation to live on their block. ] The police came about an hour after being called - a call that wasn't made until after the adult guardians needing to take responsibility for the teens on the street couldn't be found. The officers talked with the webmaster for 10 minutes or more. The officers took the information and said they'd try to patrol the block more often. They didn't respond to the information that Larry and his friends didn't attend school - thereby making their disruptive behavior possible at any time during the day. March 1989 - anonymous neighborhood Thursday night - Mob Beating Approximately 11:00 p.m. this Thursday night, a neighbor man struck a neighbor youth during some unexplained altercation. About 15 teenagers responded by beating this man with their feet, fists and sticks. (While this man was being beaten, the woman with whom he lived apparently encouraged the teenagers by yelling about how the victim also hit her kids and was, in general, a real dirtbag.} During a pause in this mob violence, the victim ran up two flights of steps and lept through the closed front living room window of a neighbor's "attended" home. He pleaded for and received help to save his life and get the police (and an ambulance). After confronting armed home owners, some of the teens were prevented from removing the victim from his temporary shelter and instead stole a VCR, stereo and set of keys from an area about three feet inside the freshly broken front window. Some immediately used the keys to steal the home owner's 19.. 'pristine' Cadillac. This involved a mob beating by gang affiliated 15 year olds on an adult man who lived across the street from them. The block on which they lived was one of the worst in the area at the time and even had a 'for real' gang named after it - as did another a few blocks west. (The mother of some of the teenagers admitted she had no control over them and couldn't get help from anyone - one recommendation made to her was for her to just move away and not tell her kids where -- letting the system then be forced to handle them.)

2/17/2007: Was former MPD Officer James Langer a thug in cops clothing - being protected by the 'thuggish culture' within a Milwaukee Police Department?! (Read about it.)

February 5th, 2007 - 67th & North - several Black teens harass a White man on a Milwaukee County Bus -- one thug amongst them reboards the bus and attacks the man --- "When asked by police and interviewed by Milwaukee County Transit System security officials shortly after the incident, none of the estimated 50 passengers said they witnessed the attack."

January 5th, 2007 - 6th & Capitol (area)
- Up to 19 teens, young adults and adolescents rape an 11 year old girl
The comments of the mother of the 14/15 year old juvenile reported here are so egregiously typical of these most 'at-risk' kids that they had to be included (by reference) at this 'thug' site. This indicates the enabling behavior of the parent that encourages rather than discourages the most dysfunctional of behaviors constantly evidenced within Inner Cities throughout our country.
2/15/07 update

December 27th, 2005 - 36th & Hampton
- Up to 15 teens and young adults beat a man in the street

[ Numerous callers to a highly popular Milwaukee radio talk show related incidents of being confronted or attacked by teenagers in the greater Milwaukee area - many relating how the Milwaukee Police Department blew them off or did nothing when called. ]

October 19th, 2005 - 37th & Meinecke

A group of up to 9 nascent teens and pre-teens attack a 62 year old man walking home from shopping at a big box Jewel-Osco store - the attack happening across the street from the store -- the Milwaukee Police Department do not want to handle it in other than the normal, slow to respond, too late to protect anyone else, bureaucratic "it's not our neighborhood, why should we care" fashion.

October 24th, 2004 - S. Ellen and E. Rusk (Bayside) - 17 Milwaukee police officers participate in a drunken mob beating of an innocent Black man
2/28/05 Charges filed • 2/18/05 update & Criminal Complaint PDF file

October 12th, 2004 - S. Kinnickinnic River & E. Lincoln - 49 year old homeless man beaten to death by three thugs

October 11th, 2004 - 27th & Fond du Lac - 18 year old man attacked by five thugs on a county bus - one attacker a 16 year old girl.

These thugs attacked the 18 year old over his cell phone on a crowded bus. The Journal-Sentinel newspaper article in the Metro section of Friday's paper (10/15/04) reported that another similar incident occurred the same day on another bus at 17th and Fond du Lac - the security camera helping identify the thugs.

October 10th, 2004 - 13th & Meinecke -- 50 year old woman attacked by three youth - one a 16 year old girl.

This incident was reported last night by the local CBS News affiliated station, Channel 58. The woman was reportedly walking by the house where the thugs were selling drugs and was attacked when she refused to buy any - the thugs kicking her while she was laying down. The thugs were arrested by the police after being spotted peeking around the corner of a house by the woman during her interview at the scene. (Staying at or returning to the scene of the crime is quite common for thugs - they getting high off all the 'official' activity associated with their negative behavior.

September 29th, 2004 - Fond du Lac & Center & 27th
48 year old man attacked by teen mob - pushed into path of bus

10/6/04 - 6 boys charged in attack of man hit by bus.

(The main article also summarizes other recent mob attacks.)

September 22nd, 2004 - 75th & Glendale
82 year old woman shot in face by gang of teens.

September 19th, 2004 - 17th & Congress
76 year old disabled woman terrorized by thugs for 2 weeks.

9/24/04 - Seniors fearful; ivory tower professor isn't.

July 30th, 2004 - 37th & Highland
Blind woman hit and robbed by three thugs

The article includes updates on other incidents.

July 29th, 2004 - 13th & Keefe
Up to 20 thugs beat three others

A young woman interviewed on TV indicated this one involved someone 'refusing the homosexual advances' of another. First reports indicated less than a half-dozen people were involved - today's news indicated the victims were brothers and the mob of thugs involved up to 20 individuals.

July 27th, 2004 - 41st & Lloyd
18 teenage thugs arrested

One of the TV news stations showed a home video of the more than a dozen police involved in the swoopdown Sunday or Monday. The area being one I'd long been walking through - the next block north being one with the highest number of voters in the 2004 Presidential Election at 64.

While this area has at times been associated with graffiti and has had the appearance of thuggish activity, I'd never been accosted or otherwise bothered when picking cans in that area over the past 16 years - it is just around the corner from where I was accosted by the two 12 year olds with the dogs, though; maybe those kids were associated with the others. (There was overtly aggressive activity against me on that other block on 8/5/2005 - in a year when a whole lot of aggressive activity, mostly Black on Black, was being evidenced.)

There were four squads in the area on June 1st and another four unmarked squads were seen driving toward that area a week ago. Maybe this latest 'group arrest' was a result of those earlier acitivities.

July 20th, 2004 - 5th & Keefe
Drive-by bicyclist kills 15 year old

2:30 am-: The eyewitnesses and others interviewed by the television news crews reported that the teens in the van had just left a fast food place and were throwing french fries at the bicyclist as they drove by him. He caught up to them at a stop light and began yelling - eventually pulling out a pistol and firing at them -- hitting and killing the 15 year old girl. A woman (mother or aunt) and brother were shown on TV at a house that had the first digit of the address missing from the holder - the woman pleading with the shooter to turn himself in before (he became another victim of violence). (7/22: more)

July 10th, 2004 - 40th & Brown
Intimidation by Rotweillers

1:00 pm: This potentially fatal incident began during my walkabout east up North to 28th, south up 28th to Brown and west along Brown toward the Washington Park Library. While walking by 40th and Brown, a group of kids, two with very big and bulky Rotweiller dogs, were congregated on the sidewalk outside the fence of the single family home on the northwest corner - presumably conversing with people they knew inside the fence at that location. As I walked by, one of the kids said something to the effect that, 'You shouldn't be walking (around) here, (man or White man or ???)' -- implying that I was either in danger similar to that of the 54 year old man beat to death this past Sunday or because I was White man in a Black neighborhood --- the term 'White' was among the various mumbled words spoken while I walked by ---- me ignoring them all.

Ignoring negative comments made to or about me as I walk by various thugs in the Inner City has proven to be the best strategy to minimize or avoid violent confrontations. I always respond to and encourage the vast majority of positive comments, that being one of the primary reasons for my walkabouts in the first place. It's only the thugs who make the negative comments - every so often, a small child not yet old enough for pre-school will make some comment such as, 'That's my can.' or 'Leave my can alone.' as I pick it up from the gutter. I usually thank him (or her) for their contribution and continue on noting the confused expression left behind - and the location of yet another household where elders are imparting their thuggish values onto their children.

A couple minutes later, as I picked up cans around the small grocery store where Brown, Lisbon and 41st streets intersect, one (presumably) 12 year old white shirted adolescent brought his large dog to within a few feet in front of me - a large white delivery truck was parked parallel to Brown to my right rear. After I stood up, I asked him if he was threatening people with his dog. He didn't answer, but smiled while the other red shirted similarly aged and slightly stockier youth came up behind me along side the deliver truck with his dog and said, "Chase me now, bitch." Turning to ask him the same question, I recognized him as being the taller, older and bolder youth who'd confronted me with the 'goose' net yesterday in Washington Park.

1:07 pm (estimated): Neither of them answered my question but were obviously hostile and moved the dogs closer to me when I asked them to do the opposite. Realizing that they were looking to escalate this situation into violence (probably hoping someone would do something to set the dogs off to attack me), I proceeded inside the store to get dial 911 - doing so about 1:08 pm or so -- me actually going back in to check the time at 1:12 pm after waiting outside several minutes. Although the boy from yesterday had stated that he lived in the house directly across the street facing 41st, they had both returned to the house facing 40th and were congregated with the other kids at the rear yard side gate talking with an adult woman and man inside the fence. Eventually, they and three or four of the smaller kids began walking the dogs through Washington Park to Lloyd and disappeared up 44th behind the Washington Park Library - probably taking the alley parallel to Lloyd over to 45th before getting to Lisbon -- me being pretty sure, now, that they live on the 2100 block of 45th Street.

After going back inside to request the store clerk to tell the police squad I'd left to walk up Lisbon to follow the kids, I walked up Lisbon to 45th and thence back down Garfield to 44th and thence back around the library to the store to see if the police had ever come. While walking back next to the bus stop enclosure next to Washington Park on Lisbon and looking back to see if the squad was coming, I noticed the two youths walking together six feet behind me - without hinting that I recognized them and seeing a grin on their face possibly indicated that I, like most White people in their stereotypical thinking, couldn't recognize one Black person from another. Taking advantage of that possible misimpression on their part, I gave no hint at recognizing them and continued toward the store.

1:29 pm: The digital clock in the store read 1:29 pm when the clerk told me that the squad had still not come. Going back outside to keep track of where the two boys were while waiting for the squad, they now knew that I knew they were there and stood on Brown between the store and the house on 40th waiting to see what else I was going to do - me becoming their entertainment of the day. A few minutes later, the squad came down Lisbon. I waved at it and tried to signal the officers that there were two youth now running to hide from them - each in the opposite direction of the other. The squad ignored my signaling and stopped in the parking lot of the store aimed away from where the kids had run - they obviously had seen both the kids run away, the red shirted one north up 40th from Brown and the white shirted one across an empty lot or large side yard next to a house behind the store.

The officers wanted to spend several minutes having me relate to them what I'd already told the 911 operator until I convinced them that stopping the kids while they were still around WITHOUT HAVING TO ARREST THEM was the priority of the moment. The squad went around the neighboring blocks while the two kids got back together at 40th and Brown - the man at the corner house now telling the woman in the yard (with me hearing) where they were as he spotted them. As soon as the squad reappeared, the kids then ran together north up the alley between 40th and 39th from Brown toward Lloyd - the kids obviously having better eyesight and awareness than the officers in the squad -- I had to let the officers know where the kids had just run --- eventually seeing the red shirted one run through the yards between Brown and Lloyd to disappear somewhere around 41st. By that time, it was a lost cause and I asked to get inside the squad to begin relating today's and yesterday's incidents.

While giving my facts, the Black female officer in the passenger seat took notes while the White male driver listened. Some criticisms of the officers behavior and attitudes I have are:

while implying that my following the youth was wrong, they later said they could do nothing without having an address where the kids lived - meaning that the police want us to give them the information needed to resolve the problem but don't want us to gather that information on our own AND AREN'T GOING TO DISCOVER IT ON THEIR OWN;
she indicated that I should stay away from these kids even though I told them I'd lived in the neighborhood for 54 years; after stating that she was saying, in so many words, that I should move out of the neighborhood, he said that she didn't say that -- no she didn't say that, but she did state that I was the one who should change my lifestyle to accommodate the thugs rather than the other way around;
the officers expressed not the slightest interest in identifying these young thugs - even after several mob beatings by UNKNOWN THUGS have taken place within District #3 within the past two weeks.

Given the disinclination of police officers to identify thugs when they can be found, it's little wonder thugs feel empowered by their anonymity. The ongoing MPD training and policy for officers on the street, as it has been for the past 16 years, is to REACT TO CRIMINALITY rather than attempt to prevent or even minimize it. Their motto needs to be changed from Protect and Serve (the citizenry who pays their salaries) to React and Record (the evidence for the Judicial System that also is being paid for by the citizenry.)

1:49 pm: Finally arrived at the Washington Park Library after this 40 minute 'yet another incident with thugs' delay. (I'd also checked the clock in the library a half hour earlier while following the boys bringing the dogs home but didn't jot down the time to remember it.)

July 7th, 2004 - 19th & Brown
Wednesday afternoon - Mob Beating

This tragic mob beating IN BROAD DAYLIGHT AT 1:00 PM began with a shoving match between a couple nascent teenagers - the supposed loser going back to gather his fellow THUGS to come back and beat the supposed 14 year old winner - one THUG a 31 year old adult -- another THUG using a two by four (the odds of 20 to 1 weren't enough for this coward.)

7/22: beaten teen emerges from coma, 7/16: three ?men? charged (I wouldn't call anyone ganging up on a 14 year old a man!) and 7/9: up to 20 people involved

July 4th, 2004 - 27th & Richardson
Sunday night - Mob Beating

12/16/05 - Jury convicts teen in fatal beating

6/9/05 - Permit denied for rooming house

3/10/05 - 5 recant their confessions.

9/24/04 - 5 charged in beating death.

August 9, 2004 - Six arrested in fatal beating

This beating death involved a 54 year old man who liked to walk around his own neighborhood with his bible - he living in a Group Home in the area where people with his limited abilities could enjoy as much independence as possible. What's notable about the neighborhood where this killing happened is that the Non-Profit Center, Making Connections Milwaukee Initiative, Neighborhood House, Volunteer Center and his own West Samaria, group home are located in the area - one would think with that many supposedly helpful resources in the area, almost every resident would already be a part of the solution rather than a part of the problem inside Dysfunctional Neighborhoods like these. (more)
The scene of the crime, where the memorial cross and flowers are located, is to the bottom right of the last panoramic photo between the telephone pole, tree and stop sign.

June 26th, 2004 - 37th & Garfield
Saturday night - Mob Beatings
(unreported by print media)

Although reported extensively by several TV News programs, this incident was ignored by the local Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel newspaper. According to people they interviewed on camera, it involved up to 60 local residents stopping and attacking two teens in a car that had intentionally come and gone through the intersection hitting other kids with the car. Even the kids in the car were from the area, apparently, they being seen driving through the area many times previously.

Milwaukee County Sheriff deputies responded to this incident. Don't know if the Milwaukee Police Department ever did - I've yet to hear even one word acknowledging that it ever happening from anyone inside MPD or even the local newspaper -- a strategy that seems to work to keep almost everyone else in the community from knowing about it, also.

September 28th, 2002 - 21st & Brown
Sunday night - Charlie Young Mob Beating Death

This is the infamous beating that made national news because it involved a mob of males from the ages of 10 to their late 20s - all who had been building up to the beating death for more than five hours before it occurred in another neighborhood infested by on-street drug dealing.

This Sunday afternoon and evening incident occurred just two blocks south from where I had stood that very same afternoon to take a picture of the steep spired church at 20th and North and only 24 hours after a similar semi-mob situation on our own block. A 36 year old man was beaten to death on the front porch of a house facing the alley-like lane - a house where the occupant refused to open the door to 'get involved' in somebody else's business.
The mob of twenty ranged in age from 10 years to 32. (The range on our block was from 12 to 21 and also involved around 20 individuals.) Their out-of-control situation evolved over an 5 hour period - it was still light out when the kids were seen walking around gathering up shovels, sticks, branches and other 'street' weapons. The victim wasn't attacked until around 10:30 pm.

September 27th, 2002 - 40th & Meinecke
Saturday night - Mob Beating !NOT!

Larry, a 14 year old living in the upper flat 2 houses north of the webmaster, was involved in another glass breaking incident last night around 8:30. He and another boy were threatening each other with bottles from one side of the street to the other (in the front yard of the house the webmaster sold in 1998). Larry eventually went back to the alley to get more bottles from the blue recycling carts to smash them on the street - once while another young man was carrying a baby across the street.
The webmaster went to put shoes and socks on and returned to the street to knock on doors where most of the 15 teenagers on the street at the time lived - the rest being strangers to the block. He couldn't find any adults at any of the flats. One mother came up the street later and was told that her daughters were going to get in trouble staying out on the street with the others while the disruptive activity was ongoing. They'd already gone inside the house a few minutes earlier after being told the same thing.

One young man claimed to be 21 but wouldn't provide an ID to prove he even lived on our street. He was drunk and drinking out of a glass bottle with clear liquid in it. He claimed to be responsible for the half-dozen kids sitting on the front porch of the middle of the three disruptive houses but claimed that he wasn't contibuting to the delinquency of a minor by merely watching Larry throw and break the bottles - they hadn't been witnessed encouraging Larry but could have been presumed by their mere presence to be an 'accepting' audience accomplishing the same thing.

At around this time, the webmaster went up to the kids congregating on the front steps of the house he had sold in 1998. He gave his speech to the 'good' kids who lived there about their flat becoming associated with gang behavior and them suffering the consequences for having sat by doing nothing in the meantime. After some of the 'stranger' youth in this potential mob made some threatening verbalizations to the webmaster, he asked them whether they were threatening him. They didn't respond but did begin arguing amongst themselves and some of the other kids who lived on the block - some maybe defending the webmaster's concern about the out-of-control behavior being evidenced and causing all the interference in their Saturday night teen gathering. (The webmaster's intentions during the entire door knocking, kids talking episode was to remove the audience and thereby the motivation for most of Larry's disruptively violent behavior - having no other responsible adults around to help made that process much more difficult and time consuming.)

Later when the mother of some of the more well behaved teens arrived on the scene, the webmaster had a 15 minute discussion with the her about how they could get in serious trouble for having a potential mob gather and form in front of her house - merely by them doing nothing to prevent it. This mother had just been dropped off by her mother and father, who were less than pleased to witness the disrepectful language and demeaner shown by their grandchildren toward the webmaster. (One of this mother's brothers was a Milwaukee Police officer.)
Another drunk highly disrespectful 21 year old, who had driven his nice white car up after the glass had been broken and couldn't park it on the other side of the street after numerous attempts finally got it parked on the other side. He joined in with the disruptive teens - shouting and asking why his Auntie should even be listening to a WHITE man. He eventually drove off drunk, without a shirt on, after his grandparents expressed disfavor with his demeanor and language. (This mother had her two youngest kids come inside then and again after the police left and the disruptive, although non-glass breaking, street behavior began anew. Their house, again, served as the congregating point for teenagers not living on the block.
A new batch of teens arrived after 10:00 pm - kids who had lived on the block more than a year ago - this new group being one that had lived in the house next door (directly across the street from the webmaster) that was trashed by them and was just now being re-rented to another individual. Eventually, by 10:30, only Larry and his 2 friends were on the street. The webmaster stayed outside sitting on the front steps until they quieted down to some semblance of self-control.

After the police were called, two adults associated with the upper flat where Larry lived drove up - seemingly drunk, also. The woman claimed that the boy in the white shirt (Larry) didn't live in her flat even though he'd been witnessed entering it within the hour and on prior days. Later, while he was sitting on her lower from steps, she called him Larry and told the webmaster to get away from the front of her house - she being on the upper front porch with the male at the time. After informing her that the sidewalk was public property, the webmaster eventually moved away. She also asked if the webmaster had a gun at home - implying that he'd need it if he continued discussing Larry. He asked her if she was threatening him - she then saying, "No."

In any case, almost everyone involved with the disruptive behaviors, teen and adult, got the impression that the webmaster was waiting for anyone to make the first move to attack or otherwise justify a more violent (or official - they, like many others seeing a 'White man' in the Inner City, thinking him to be a policeman) response from him and more serious trouble for them. The upper flat mother said as much when Larry came off the porch toward him in some sort of threatening stance - it being ignored by him but attended to by his 'presumed' mother. [ It was subsequently discovered that Larry was on probation! Had that been known and HAD LARRY AND HIS MOTHER KNOWN THAT THE WEBMASTER (and Block Captain) KNEW THAT, maybe his behavior would have been a lot less disruptive on the block - meaning that the entire probation system makes no sense when people in the community, especially Block Captains, aren't made aware when potentially disruptive individuals are let out on probation to live on their block. ]

The police came about an hour after being called - a call that wasn't made until after the adult guardians needing to take responsibility for the teens on the street couldn't be found. The officers talked with the webmaster for 10 minutes or more. The officers took the information and said they'd try to patrol the block more often. They didn't respond to the information that Larry and his friends didn't attend school - thereby making their disruptive behavior possible at any time during the day.

March 1989 - anonymous neighborhood
Thursday night - Mob Beating

Approximately 11:00 p.m. this Thursday night, a neighbor man struck a neighbor youth during some unexplained altercation. About 15 teenagers responded by beating this man with their feet, fists and sticks. (While this man was being beaten, the woman with whom he lived apparently encouraged the teenagers by yelling about how the victim also hit her kids and was, in general, a real dirtbag.}

During a pause in this mob violence, the victim ran up two flights of steps and lept through the closed front living room window of a neighbor's "attended" home. He pleaded for and received help to save his life and get the police (and an ambulance).

After confronting armed home owners, some of the teens were prevented from removing the victim from his temporary shelter and instead stole a VCR, stereo and set of keys from an area about three feet inside the freshly broken front window. Some immediately used the keys to steal the home owner's 19.. 'pristine' Cadillac.

This involved a mob beating by gang affiliated 15 year olds on an adult man who lived across the street from them. The block on which they lived was one of the worst in the area at the time and even had a 'for real' gang named after it - as did another a few blocks west. (The mother of some of the teenagers admitted she had no control over them and couldn't get help from anyone - one recommendation made to her was for her to just move away and not tell her kids where -- letting the system then be forced to handle them.)