MILWAUKEE — Questions are mounting about the Milwaukee Police Department's pursuit policy after what's already been a record year for police chase deaths.
To date, MPD data shows nine people have died in pursuits in 2025, with six of them being innocent victims in cars not being chased.
"One death is one death too many," Alderwoman Sharlen Moore said.
"Now is an opportune time to reexamine the policy," Alderman Scott Spiker said.
TMJ4 has learned that MPD hasn't kept its promise to have community members help review its pursuit policies.
Back in February, the Milwaukee Police Department announced it was launching a Police/Citizen Pursuit Review Committee to get feedback from the community about policies when it comes to pursuits. TMJ4’s Lighthouse team wanted to find out who was on it, so a reporter filed an open records request, only to find members of the police department are part of that committee. TMJ4 showed up at City Hall, where MPD officials were called to testify to find out why.
Watch: MPD pursuit deaths reach record high with no community oversight yet
After just about every police chase death this year, we've heard family and friends of innocent victims call for the same change.
"They're killing more innocent people than the actual people who are doing the crime," Jon Franklin said on August 26.
"I believe they're putting us in more danger," Charles Fair said on September 17.
"It's not safe to chase those kinds of people in the middle of the street at a busy time," Brahim Minih said on July 31.
As of mid-September, Milwaukee police say its officers chased 778 fleeing drivers — about 100 more than this time last year.
TMJ4 asked Assistant Chief Craig Sarnow why community members continue to be left off the department's pursuit review committee.
"To date, there aren't any members from the community a part of that committee. That's correct. We've had two committee reviews, two meetings of the committee, and we haven't identified yet a member of the community to serve on the committee," Sarnow said.
Sarnow told TMJ4 the department's standard operating procedure requires MPD's community relations and engagement manager to select a community member who has taken part in the department's citizen academy.
Sarnow says that hasn't happened because the person who held that position — Marcey Patterson — was fired when she was criminally investigated and charged with voter fraud.
Sarnow says once the position is filled, a community member will be selected.
When asked if six innocent lives taken in police chases this year are enough to change policy, Sarnow said, "One life lost is too many, so we are examining the policies again."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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