About 50 people gathered Saturday to demand the firing of Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn after the in-custody death of Derek Williams.
Many who attended the rally at Gordon Park in Riverwest wore black hoods and carried placards with slogans such as "Justice for Derek" and "End the Racist Violence." Organizers also collected signatures on a petition asking the city's Fire and Police Commission to remove Flynn.
"Flynn has just shown a general disregard for the community," said Josh Del Colle, 23, who helped organize the event. "He is dismissing the community as a whole. He is just being disingenuous."
Police arrested Williams on suspicion of robbery in July 2011. A squad video showed he died after gasping for breath and begging for help for about eight minutes in the back of a police car as he was ignored by officers.
The video was posted on JSOnline in September after 10 months of public records requests and negotiations with the city. Officials at the Police Department, district attorney's office and Fire and Police Commission all viewed the video months ago and concluded the officers involved did nothing wrong.
The medical examiner originally called the death natural but changed it to homicide as the result of a Journal Sentinel investigation. In forensic terms, homicide means "death at the hands of another" and does not necessarily mean a crime was committed.
The FBI last week launched a criminal civil rights investigation into Williams' death. A public inquest led by a special prosecutor also will be convened.
In a separate inquiry, federal authorities in Washington, D.C., are investigating whether to sue the Police Department for having a pattern of violating civil rights.
In addition to the death of Williams, those calling for Flynn's dismissal cited numerous other problems in the department, including illegal cavity searches for drugs - which resulted in felony charges against four officers last week - the detention of the mother of a slain boy and inaccurate reporting of crime statistics to the FBI and to the public.
Flynn has not responded to numerous requests for comment and did not reply to a reporter's email Saturday. Protesters have called for him to resign or be fired at several recent events, as has MICAH, Milwaukee Inner-city Congregations Allied for Hope.
Flynn has said he will not leave. At a news conference last week, he said misconduct occurs within every urban police department and that he should be judged not by the fact that it happened, but by his response to it. He also said he hopes to rebuild trust with the community.
Precious Thomas, 34, said that's not possible.
"Chief Flynn's got to go," she said. "We need justice before it happens to somebody else. We've had enough."
Wilton Johnson, 22, said he came to the rally because of social responsibility. He carried a colorful sign bearing Williams' name.
"There are inalienable rights that we all have and deserve," he said. "We want to send a real clear message that this cannot be tolerated." Johnson and two fellow members of the Pathfinders' homeless youth drop-in center on Milwaukee's east side went to the protest after seeing fliers for the gathering at the center, Johnson said.
"I want to show solidarity in my community and add my voice to the rally cry of justice," said Meghan Mc-Donald, a resident of Riverwest.
Jennifer Zahn of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.
Copyright 2012, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)
Copyright, 2012, Journal Sentinel, All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2012 Journal Sentinel Inc.
