Milwaukee is about to pack thousands of people into Cathedral Square, the Third Ward, and the lakefront for Bastille Days and Festa Italiana, two of the city’s most beloved summer traditions.
But this year, the celebrations come with a shadow hanging over them: the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) is operating at 80% missing 200 officers.
“I mean there’s not enough officers out there. We’re about 170 officers short and about 30 detectives. So MPD is about 200 officers, total, short-staffed,” Milwaukee Police Association President Alex Ayala told Today’s TMJ 4.
When asked about the shortage, Mayor Cavalier Johnson did not address staffing, resources, or public safety planning. He did not acknowledge the strain on officers or the risk to residents. Instead, he blamed “people making a decision to act stupid.”
We know unruly teens are part of the problem. However, that is not the question he was asked. The question is: How do you keep a city safe when you’re missing 200 officers?
That is not just a staffing issue, that is a crisis. MPD officers are stretched thin. Officers are working overtime, extending shifts, and covering districts they normally do not patrol. They are trying their hardest to cover the downtown entertainment districts.
Under normal staffing, the festivals require heavy coordination. Under a 200 officer shortage, these events will require a miracle.
These events draw tens of thousands of people into the same downtown corridors that already saw fights, fireworks injuries, and a shooting last weekend.
The Office of Wellness and Safety has also dispatched crises response teams that go into the crowds and try to prevent chaos but they too are short staff. With MPD 200 officers short, the city cannot guarantee prevention of riots or large scale disturbances. It can only try to contain them.
This weekend will show us whether the City is ready to protect Milwaukeeans and festival goers, or whether Milwaukee is once again left to protect itself. If our leaders will not face the crisis, then they’re not leading. They’re hoping. And hope is not a public safety strategy.
