Praying for Homicide Victim 95

Today we have a MICAH Holy Ground prayer vigil at the site where a 35 man was shot and killed. He was shot Monday night at 10pm in front of residence in North Central Milwaukee. Today the police released his name, Ules C. Burks Jr. but have no suspect or motive for the killing. We said a few prayers, sang a song and ended with the Our Father. There was no family present so we did not know much about the person. A woman in a car came by, stopped the car and looked at the site. As she was going back to the car Sister Rose, our prayer leader, asked if she knew the person and she replied he was her brother and drove off.

According to Sister Rose’s count Ules was the 95th homicide victim in Milwaukee this year which is only one-half gone. Our number is higher than police’s official count since we count vehicular homicides which the police do not count. But even the official police count of homicides is twice as much as there was last year at this time.

Yesterday I sent the Mayor, County Executive, Police Chief and Governor an edited version of the posting Why More Crime In Milwaukee. I could have said a lot more, but more is not always better and I will be satisfied if any one of them ever reads the letter. Letter writing to politicians I believe is a waste of time, but still do it because of love and respect for them, even though I may disagree with them. I know from personal experience of what it is to be ignored and treated indifferently.

After one of the homicide prayer vigils a Public Radio news-person asked me what I thought about the Police Chief whose term was up for renewal tonight before the Fire and Police Commission. I tried to be respectful but honest when saying how his “data driven policing” was not working in Milwaukee.

Tonight on TV news I saw his contract was extended for four years, although there was some objections from residents of crime ridden neighborhoods. Afterwards the police addressed the objections by saying that he had placed the most police residents in neighbors hit hard by crime. This is true and is part of his “data driven system” of policing. However, sometimes, more police presence, more police stops of black males, more frisking and arrest of young black males can be a negative factor in police community relations and lead to more arrest, more incarcerations and more police stopping more people.

North Central Milwaukee is the most segregated (African American) neighborhood of the most segregated city in the USA, the poorest neighborhood in the second poorest city in the USA, the neighborhood with the highest rate of incarceration of African American males in the State with the highest rate in the USA and a neighborhood suffering from high unemployment and underfunded public schools. This not to say that persons who commit crimes should be held accountable. Also, the police cannot be held responsible for all these factors in the environment that make it hard to be good. But also stopping more people, padding down more people and arresting more people are very small crimes is not always helpful.

The police chief, like most of the officials in the city, are good people and interesting enough, mostly Catholics like myself. But as I said in my letter some have an attitude of superiority and knowing what is best. “Data driven policing” in Milwaukee is not working but who is going to tell that to the Police Chief and will he listen?

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