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Common Council addresses street takeovers
Milwaukee police arrested three people, towed six cars and cited several others tied to street takeovers this weekend.
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee streets flooded by reckless and unruly drivers. These are called street takeovers – and the city's Common Council is now addressing the chaos.
Chaos on the streets
What we know:
Over the weekend, Milwaukee police arrested three people, towed six cars and cited several others tied to these street takeovers. There were more than a dozen of these takeovers in just the last weekend.
Milwaukee Common Council President Jose Perez said earlier this summer, the council explored potential legislation when it comes to street takeovers. It would fine anyone involved $500 – and that includes people standing by watching. But Perez said enforcing the legislation would be difficult.
What they're saying:
"We know innocent people get caught up inside of these street takeovers that don’t want to be there, are stuck being in them, and we don’t want to punish them," Perez said.
Milwaukee Common Council President Jose Perez
Months ago, Milwaukee police talked about doing directed patrol missions to put the brakes on the bad behavior. Officers would go on the north and south sides of the city with tow trucks.
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"We want to hear what the results of those were," Perez said.
Perez said talking to police about those patrols is one of the Common Council's next steps.
Bring in the National Guard?
Dig deeper:
Meanwhile, the street takeovers have people questioning if the National Guard needs to step in. This is what Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson had to say about it on Monday.
"The mission of the United State’s military is not that boots on the ground for stuff like that," Johnson said.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson
On Tuesday, Milwaukee Police Association President Alex Ayala said, "Maybe exploring something like the National Guard could benefit the city of Milwaukee and we can curb some of this crime down and the police can do their job while maybe they take care of crowd control."
Ayala said the Milwaukee police force is short-staffed while it is battling contract negotiations with the city.
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"We would welcome any help that could help our police officers stay safe and fight crime," Ayala said.
What's next:
Common Council President Perez told FOX6 News he does not think the city needs more legislation. He said there is enough on the books to cite people and tow cars. Perez said the next step is getting information from Milwaukee police on how their directed patrols are cracking down.
The city's Public Safety and Health Committee has a meeting next week. On the agenda is this issue.
Milwaukee street takeovers; police respond to nearly 20 in 2 days
Milwaukee police are criss-crossing across the city, attempting to crack down on street takeovers. Officers responded to nearly 20 takeovers over the weekend.
The Source: The information in this post was produced by FOX6 News.