Police seek thieves who stole power cords from holiday light displays

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee police are investigating the theft of some electrical cables or power cords that were stolen from holiday light displays at two city parks.

The eight cables were stolen from the holiday light displays at Pere Marquette Park and Zeidler Park in downtown Milwaukee some time between Friday, November 9th and Monday morning, November 12th. It appeared the thieves stole the cables for their copper.

"Milwaukeeans are very protective of our parks. They take ownership of the parks and we know everybody kind of watches out," Beth Weirick with the Milwaukee Downtown Business District said.

The holiday light displays were being assembled in anticipation of their being lit on Thursday, November 15th as part of the city's Holiday Lights Festival.

"I always think about if somebody steals something that isn't yours, they must need it more than you do. In this particular case, I don't think they needed that copper wire more than we did for the parks," Weirick said.

Weirick said fortunately, the cords were already replaced.

"It was wrong. It was a criminal act, but the show is going to go on," Weirick said.

Crews could be found on Tuesday back in Pere Marquette Park and Zeidler Park painting the stages and tidying up before Thursday's festival kick-off.

If you have any information that could help locate the suspects who stole the cables, you're urged to call the Milwaukee Police Department at (414) 935-7212.