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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Milwaukee PD accessed Illinois Flock cameras for classified investigation
The Milwaukee Police Administration Building downtown. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner) Across the nation, law enforcement agencies are accessing Flock Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) camera databases, regardless of whether they have their own contract for the AI-powered system. Researchers from 404 Media published a data trove derived from Flock audits earlier this week. Although the audit data came from the Danville Police Department in Illinois, Wisconsin Examiner found that intelligence units within the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) also appear in the database. The audit data shows that last year on July 15 and Oct. 21, personnel from the Southeastern Threat Analysis Center (STAC) — a homeland security-focused arm of the MPD's fusion center — conducted a total of three searches within Danville PD's Flock network. STAC gathers and disseminates intelligence across eight counties in southeastern Wisconsin. MPD's own Fusion Division is co-located with the STAC. Together the units operate a 'real time event center,' a vast network of both city-owned and privately owned cameras and operate Milwaukee's gunshot detection system known as Shotspotter. They also monitor social media and conduct various types of mobile phone-related investigations. STAC has also explored the use of drones, facial recognition technology and predictive intelligence. MPD's Flock searches were logged under the user name 'D. Whi' from 'Milwaukee WI PD – STAC'. In the dataset's 'reason' column, the searches were recorded as 'HSI investigation' and 'HSI vehicle loader.' Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) specialize in matters of immigration, illegal exporting, cyber crime and national security. By tapping into Danville's Flock data, according to the audit, STAC was able to access 4,893 Flock networks and an equal number of individual devices, such as cameras, for the July 15 search alone. The other two searches from October reached 5,425 Flock networks and devices and captured data from a one-month period. 404 Media's investigation focused on how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has accessed Flock databases nationwide, despite not having a contract with the company themselves, and how various agencies appeared to conduct immigration-related searches. Whereas many searches were logged as 'immigration violation,' 'ICE' or even 'ICE ASSIST,' others only noted the involvement of HSI. In a statement sent Wednesday morning, an MPD spokesperson denied that STAC's use of Danville PD's Flock network was immigration-related. 'Information regarding this investigation is classified and not available as it is ongoing,' the spokesperson wrote in an email to Wisconsin Examiner. 'I can confirm it is related to a criminal investigation with HSI and not immigration related.' The spokesperson later added that this was a 'HIDTA investigation,' referring to a federal task force linked to the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program. MPD's HIDTA units are attached to the department's Special Investigations Division, a separate branch from the Fusion division and STAC. 'The majority of HIDTA and STAC investigations are classified,' the spokesperson wrote in the statement. 'Oftentimes, these investigations involved confidential informants and sometimes it could take years to resolve.' Several police departments in Milwaukee County utilize Flock cameras. MPD entered into its contract in 2022. Over 1,300 registered cameras operate across the city as part of Community Connect, a program supported by the Milwaukee Police Foundation, according to the program's web page, with nearly 900 'integrated' cameras which grant MPD real-time access. Both the use of automatic license plate readers and MPD's ability to participate in immigration enforcement are governed by specific policies. The department's immigration policy, SOP-130, cautions that 'proactive immigration enforcement by local police can be detrimental to our mission and policing philosophy when doing so deters some individuals from participating in their civic obligation to assist the police.' The policy limits MPD's ability to assist ICE with detaining or gathering information about a person to 'only when a judicial warrant is presented' and when the target is suspected of involvement in terrorism, espionage, a transnational criminal street gang, violent felony, sexual offense against a minor or was a previously deported felon. Privacy advocates have raised concerns and filed lawsuits over Flock's ability to collect and store data without a warrant. The license plate reader policy – SOP 735 – allows personnel to access data stored 'for the purposes of conducting crime trend analyses' but only when those activities are approved by a supervisor and are intended to 'assist the agency in the performance of its duties.' MPD personnel may use Flock to 'look for potentially suspicious activity or other anomalies that might be consistent with criminal or terrorist activity' and are not prohibited from 'accessing and comparing personal identifying information of one or more individuals who are associated with a scanned vehicle as part of the process of analyzing stored non-alert data.' Automatic license plate reading technology captures information from any passing car. In some cases, investigators may also place specific vehicles on a Be On the Lookout (BOLO) list, also known as a 'hot list', which notifies law enforcement whenever a specific vehicle is seen by a license plate reader-equipped camera. A Thursday morning public hearing held by the city's Finance and Personnel Committee considered whether more Flock cameras should be added to Milwaukee's already existing network. Ald. Scott Spiker spoke in support of the cameras, and said he worked to install license plate readers in his own district. Spiker described having discussions with local business district leaders and MPD's fusion center, which resulted in cameras being deployed on 27th Street. 'Don't ask me where, because I won't tell you,' said Spiker, adding that the cameras 'serve a variety of purposes' from combating car theft to aiding Amber and Silver Alerts. 'There's going to a broader question, which I imagine will be a subject of the public testimony, however, and I'm fine hearing it, but ultimately there's going to be a discussion to be had in the city of anything that smacks of surveillance software, and what sort of oversight is provided, and should be provided,' said Spiker. He added that such a discussion 'will be had in full in Public Safety' and that although he welcomed public testimony, the committee was there to discuss approving a contract, and not concerns over surveillance. 'The camera's already in use by MPD, and in use by our parking checkers,' said Spiker. 'When they do night parking enforcement, they use ALPR's. When they do zoning enforcement during the day, they use ALPR's. So these are already in use. They have no facial recognition or any of the stuff that's been in the news. But it is a legitimate question to ask what degree of surveillance of any sort, given the national context, do we want to have oversight over?' Spiker said that there's a 'big debate' about surveillance but that 'we can't sort that out today.' Amanda Merkwae, advocacy director with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Wisconsin, complained that the public had not been alerted ahead of time about the discussion of the Flock contract. 'I've been checking daily and the documents in this file and the text of the resolution weren't posted until yesterday [Wednesday] afternoon,' said Merkwae. 'So I think for an item that has significant implications for the civil liberties of Milwaukeeans, particularly the most vulnerable resident, that's concerning.' The agenda had been out for over a week, and was amended a couple of days before the hearing, Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic later explained. Merkwae said, 'We know that ICE has gained access to troves of data from sanctuary cities to aid in its raids and immigration enforcement actions, including data from the vast network of license plate readers across the country.' She cited a 404 Media investigation earlier this month, which found that Flock is building a massive people look-up tool which pulls in different forms of data, including license plate reader data, 'in order to track specific individuals without a warrant.' Merkwae also referenced 404 Media's findings this week revealing immigration-related look-ups, as well as the classified investigation that involved MPD's intelligence units. The advocacy director also questioned what MPD's policies mean in practice when federal or out-of-state law enforcement want to access its Flock databases. 'If law enforcement told us that they wanted to put a tracking device on every single car in the country so that we know where every car is every single moment of the day, and we're going to build a database of all those locations run by an unaccountable private company, and accessible to every law enforcement agency across the country without needing any type of a warrant, I think we would be alarmed and we would have some follow-up questions,' said Merkwae. 'So at the end of the day, we think the public deserves to know how it is being surveilled and the common council deserves to know the answers to some pretty basic questions before approving contracts for surveillance technology that's deployed without a warrant.' In 2023, Fox 6 published a map of Flock cameras operated by MPD. The map, broken up by aldermadic district, shows a large cluster of cameras located on the North Side around District 7, as well as a cluster on the South Side around District 8. Smaller clusters of cameras were located on the East, far Southwest Side and Northwest Side of the city. signal-2025-05-29-135844 After Merkwae testified, Spiker raised a question about whether public testimony should continue, given open meetings laws. A lengthy discussion followed about which issues and topics may be discussed in the hearing by committee members, which halted public testimony for over 20 minutes as alders heard from city attorneys and MPD. Ald. Miele Coggs said hearing the public's concerns before a contract is approved for surveillance technology was important. Ald. Dimitrijevic also stressed that public comment was an important step, saying that the committee would not go into closed session to discuss the Flock contract before the public finished speaking, or otherwise limit public testimony. When public testimony continued, Milwaukee residents shared further concerns about the technology. Ron Jansen said that the city has seen a surge of surveillance gear used by MPD. 'Between the growth of a fascist regime in Washington … and our own militarized and violent police force here in Milwaukee, it's clear that the last thing we need is more ways for police to track us,' Jansen said. He added that Flock networks are capable of tracking and cataloging 'people's every movement throughout a given day' even if they're not the target of an investigation. Other residents, including locals from Spiker's district and representatives from the court diversion non-profit program JusticePoint, also spoke against Flock's expansion. Tara Cavazos, executive director of the South 27th Street Business District, said Flock cameras had made her area safer. 'We are the initiators of these three additions to the Flock network,' said Cavazos. 'And we donated the funds for two years of use of these Flock cameras. So they're not coming from MPD's budget, it's coming out of our budgets. These Flocks are not going to be placed in a neighborhood, it's not specific to any vulnerable communities, they are in business districts on state and county highways.' Cavazos said that since Flocks have been deployed, car thefts declined 'significantly on the south end of our corridor, where the border between Milwaukee and Greenfield is,' and that 'we've caught a homicide suspect.' Leif Otteson, an executive director of two business districts, said that he hears from people who want more surveillance. Otteson recalled working to expand the city's ring camera network, which STAC and other parts of MPD's fusion center have access to. Otteson has talked with people who want cameras in their community gardens and other areas. 'I just want to make that clear, that people like myself are getting those requests,' said Otteson. Once public testimony concluded, the committee went into closed session for over an hour. The discussion pertained to an unspecified 'non-standard' provision in the Flock contract, which had been raised by the city attorney's office. When the committee returned to open session, they voted 4-1 to hold the file due to legal concerns with the contract until the next committee meeting on June 18. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
New York Post
24-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Blame NY's thug-loving progs for the death of innocent bystanders like ‘Momma Zee'
The killing of Excenia 'Momma Zee' Mette stands as a double tragedy: A family — and community — lost a cherished member. And progressives lost one of the very people they claim to be looking out for, thanks to their own foolish policies. Mette was a beloved Harlem bodega-owner and respected community leader. She had recently attended the Rev. Al Sharpton National Action Network's annual convention. Tuesday night, Mette was caught in a deadly gang crossfire and fatally shot in the head when she ran outside to look for her grandson after hearing gunshots. Advertisement New York simply failed to protect her — because its laws, prosecutors and judges leave violent gunmen out on the streets, free to terrorize. They send the message that thugs will pay no price for their heinous deeds. Now Mette's shattered family and neighbors are crying, 'When is it going to stop?' Advertisement Sadly, it won't. Not until progressives put the rights and safety of law-abiding minorities (and others) above the interests of criminal minorities. Indeed, by Wednesday afternoon, just hours after Mette was killed, another innocent bystander — this time 28-year-old plumber's apprentice Marji Daoud, of Yonkers — was also fatally shot in the head when four men opened fire in The Bronx. Don't think such madness is inevitable: Tools like the Shotspotter, the gang database, 'broken windows' policing and other more can do wonders to keep streets safe, but they've been targets of the city and state's progressives. Advertisement Thug-coddling Democrats in the Legislature have resisted sensible fixes that could put violent sociopaths and recidivist gunmen behind bars. And judges and prosecutors have gone soft. Darious Smith, a suspect in the gunfire that led to Momma Zee's death, was out on bail at the time, facing charges he slashed two people with a box cutter. Judge Michael Ryan had lowered the prosecutor's request for $50,000 in bail to just $10,000. 'The police are doing their job. We have to have the other parts of the criminal justice system do their job,' fumed Mayor Eric Adams. Fact is, there's a direct link between these latest killings, pro-crime judges and district attorneys and soft-on-crime laws (cashless bail, Raise the Age, 'discovery' statutes that free perps on technicalities, etc.). Advertisement On Thursday, Mayor Adams made a big show of destroying over 3,500 illegal guns used in violent crimes — but the mayor knows it means nothing if you don't jail the thugs holding the gun. Progressives are steadfastly opposed to that. Their priority is protecting the perps. And too bad for victims like Momma Zee and Marji Daoud. Too bad for victims of color. New Yorkers should remember that Momma Zee's blood is on the hands of every progressive Democrat in Albany and City Hall. Communities like Harlem need to rise up and shout: Enough is enough. And then take their anger with them to the voting booth.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Yahoo
Milwaukee police officer facing felony for firing gun toward homes, near school
A Milwaukee police officer has been charged with a felony for firing a gun near a school and toward homes three years ago. Prosecutors say Vashaun Young fired a gun twice toward two homes while driving late at night through the 2300 block of West Burleigh Street on March 20, 2022. The 36-year-old man has been an officer for about five years and is on full suspension from the Milwaukee Police Department, according to a press release. The gunfire occurred within 1,000 feet of the Nova High School at 2320 W. Burleigh St. and occurred while Young was off duty, according to prosecutors. According to a criminal complaint: The investigation began in March when a Milwaukee police detective reviewed an 11-second cellphone video which showed Young driving with a handgun in his hand. As Young drives, he fires the gun toward the two homes. Prosecutors write he did not appear to be looking in the direction of his gun fire and, afterwards, began singing. In an interview with investigators, Young confirmed he was the man in the video. Police investigators also confirmed the shooting through Shotspotter, a controversial audio detection technology that triangulates where gunshots occur, and police dispatch records. Young is charged with endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon. If convicted, he could be sentenced up to 17 years and six months in prison and fined up to $25,000. Young is scheduled for an initial court appearance on May 12. David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@ This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee police officer charged with firing gun near school
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
Police investigate two deadly overnight shootings in Southwest Albuquerque
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) — The Albuquerque Police Department is investigating two separate deadly shootings from late night Wednesday to early morning Thursday. One happened near 801 Barelas Road S.W. and the other in the 10000 block of Antler Tool Road S.W, according to APD. Police responded to Barelas a bit before 11 p.m. to find someone dead with a gunshot wound. The individual has not been identified. Detectives are investigating. Officers were made aware of the shooting through gun detection technology know as Shotspotter. Shortly after 1 a.m., Southwest Area Command officers responded to the shooting at Antler Tool Road. They found a person dead in the entryway of the home. Police say the man was trying to force his way into the home, and the homeowner shot him through the door with a handgun. Detectives are investigating this as a 'possible justifiable homicide.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Yahoo
Two violence interrupters charged in Minneapolis shooting
Two men who have worked as violence interrupters in Minneapolis have been charged for their alleged involvement in gunfire that erupted last week during a backyard barbecue. Kashmir Khaliffa McReynolds, 35, and Alvin Anthony Watkins Jr., 50, are both charged with reckless discharge of a firearm within city limits. McReynolds is charged with illegally giving a firearm to a convicted felon, and Watkins is charged with being a felon in illegal possession of a firearm. Both are identified in court documents as "working for a community group as armed security." It has since been reported that both have worked for the violence interruption group 21 Days of Peace. Rev. Jerry McAfee, the founder of 21 Days of Peace, said a Facebook post on Saturday that McReynolds was shot and then arrested for "firing his weapon at those who shot him and tried to assassinate him." KSTP has previously reported Watkins' involvement with the organization. According to the criminal complaints, the shooting happened on March 10 in the area of 36th Avenue North and Penn Avenue. Officers were alerted via Shotspotter activation and went to the scene to find "dozens of discharged cartridge casings." Police learned that McReynolds and Watkins were a few blocks away and were suffering from gunshot wounds. McReynolds had been shot in the shoulder and had a bullet graze wound to his neck. He was taken to a hospital and eventually discharged. On the way to the hospital, McReynolds claimed that he had returned fire in the incident but "could not see anyone when he did so," the complaint states. Nearly 70 gunshots were detected on Shotspotter in total, with the exchange of gunfire happening over a period of 90 seconds. Surveillance video captured the shooting, with a crowd of people running towards Penn Avenue after the first shots rang out, including Watkins. McReynolds is seen on video lying on the ground near a tree stump, firing a gun about eight seconds after the initial shots were fired. The complaint details the following: "Thirty-seven seconds after that, [McReynolds] fired multiple times again. The video depicts [McReynolds] then getting up off of the ground and running towards Queen Avenue. [Watkins] is then seen returning to the address on Penn Avenue. [McReynolds] is heard on the video telling [Watkins], 'Grab my chop' multiple times. Chop is a reference to a firearm. [Watkins] responded, 'Where is it at?' [McReynolds] answered that it was in the backseat, and told [Watkins] to 'Load the b—ch!' The video shows that once [McReynolds] made it to Queen Avenue, he fired again multiple times about one minute and 20 seconds after the initial shots were fired. [Watkins] then fired [McReynolds'] second firearm multiple times immediately after [McReynolds] shot from the intersection in the location in the alley. The two then proceed to their respective vehicles and [Watkins] fired again. The two then leave the scene in their respective vehicles." McReynolds told investigators he had been standing near the grill when he saw two people near a garage begin shooting. He also initially claimed that he laid on the ground before getting up and walking between cars and houses to fire towards the muzzle flashes that he had seen. However, video surveillance allegedly contradicted that claim, showing McReynolds shooting while on the ground. He later changed his story, admitting he never saw the shooters and was shooting in the general direction of where the shots were coming from. According to the complaint, McReynolds said he knew from his training and experience that when returning fire, you are supposed to stop firing when the other person stops firing or turns their back. He admitted he knew he should have not fired once the initial shooters stopped shooting, "but his adrenaline was going." When McReynolds was asked if he knew he had a duty to retreat and not shoot, he said he didn't, charges say. Watkins is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to three previous felony-level convictions, according to the complaint. At the time of the shooting, he was on probation. A warrant was issued for Watkins' arrest before he was taken into custody late Monday night, jail records indicate. He was released early Tuesday morning on $100,000 bail and is set to make his first court appearance the same day. McReynolds is also due for a court appearance on Tuesday afternoon. He remains in custody. The charges against McReynolds and Watkins Jr. came on a day that the administration of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey withdrew a contract proposal to Salem Inc., the nonprofit founded by Rev. McAfee, who also founded 21 Days of Peace. The City of Minneapolis on Friday proposed giving Salem Inc. a $650,000 contract for violence interruption services. The one-year contract, with a two-year renewal option, was set to be considered by the Administration and Enterprise Oversight committee on Monday, only to be withdrawn with no specific reason provided. "We anticipate submitting a new Request for Council Action for consideration by the Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, March 25 that will not include Salem Inc.," a city spokesperson told Bring Me The News. A member of the city's Office of Community Safety told a council committee on Monday that it was "reviewing events that have occurred" since the violence interruption contracts were proposed, the Star Tribune reports. The proposal to include Salem Inc. among the proposal violence interruption contracts had raised eyebrows among some Minneapolis City Council members following a tense appearance by McAfee at a meeting last month. The council held a hearing on a proposal to shift responsibility and funding for group violence intervention programs to Hennepin County, with some council members raising concerns over the use of funding and lack of oversight of the city's Neighborhood Safety Department (NSD), which is led by Minneapolis Public Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette. Council member Robin Wonsley said the proposal followed several complaints received by the council regarding the NSD, citing understaffing that followed "mass resignations," delays in payments on contracts, and a whistleblower alleging fraud and waste within the department. McAfee, who is a pastor at New Salem Missionary Baptist Church, spoke at the meeting and proceeded to make threatening remarks towards some of the council members. "The way you lookin' at me, if you wanna come behind that podium, you do it. I guarantee, I guarantee you will regret it ... I got 40 years of shit in me from seeing my people die," he said. When asked if that was a threat, McAfee said: "I don't make threats, I make promises," and said if he was to be removed from the chamber, his "people" would come. On a later Facebook Live stream, McAfee said that he would keep things peaceful at Thursday's meeting, but he also suggested violence to some with the following statement: "Rev. McAfee ain't hit nobody, I ain't shot nobody. However, I will if I have to. I don't want to. I'm not going to bother anybody, but I'm going to fight for my people." Bring Me The News reached out to McAfee for further comment following Monday's contract withdrawal, but has not received a response.
