"What you're doing is not enough:" Police, Pick 'n Save leaders answer tough questions after Midtown armed robbery
“What you`re doing is not enough:” Police, Pick `n Save leaders answer tough questions after Midtown armed robbery
"What you`re doing is not enough:" Police, Pick `n Save leaders answer tough questions after Midtown armed robbery
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- A Milwaukee Pick 'n Save store has an image problem. There is public outcry after a security camera captured a blurry image of two robbery suspects. The woman who was robbed and threatened at gunpoint is leading the charge to increase security at Milwaukee's Midtown Center near 60th and Capitol. Store leaders answered some tough questions as a community meeting was held at Morse-Marshall High School on Wednesday evening, February 11th.
The victim was putting groceries in her trunk at the Pick 'n Save store at Midtown Center around 6:30 p.m. when two men took off with her purse. Now, many others are joining her to request tighter security at the store.
"There needs to be more cameras and police patrolling the area," Loraine Walls said.
Walls comments come at a critical time for the shopping center. In January, a woman was robbed in the store's parking lot. In late January, that woman spoke with FOX6 News under the condition we protect her identity. She spoke publicly about what happened to her for the first time at Wednesday evening's meeting -- where she again asked that her identity be protected.
"I saw two boys coming toward me. One started talking to me and said 'I don`t want to have to shoot you. Give me your purse. Hurry up,'" the robbery victim said.
This woman was upset to discover condensation fogged the lens of Pick 'n Save's security camera, making the footage useless for investigators.
"Get your cameras fixed. Get some better lighting out here," the victim said in late January.
At a town hall meeting Wednesday evening, organized by Alderman Joe Davis, many voiced their frustration to the property owner, store representatives and police.
"What you're doing is not enough. Not enough for the community Midtown is in," one person said.
Milwaukee police say the incident in January is the only reported armed robbery at the shopping center in the last eight months. A Pick 'n Save spokesperson says the company decided to make changes and upgrade its existing camera. He admits though, there isn't much that can be done to clear condensation -- snow and other elements that get stuck on the lens.
"We`re going to add one more camera. We`re going to lower the cameras to get a better field of view and hopefully give more of a sense of security for customers," the Pick 'n Save spokesman said.
In what she calls a rough part of town, Walls says it's a step in the right direction.
"It seems like we're not safe anywhere anymore," Walls said.
We're told there is a security guard on site at Midtown 24/7.
Milwaukee police say no one has been arrested in connection with this armed robbery.
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