Milwaukee city leaders discuss police use of military-grade equipment for crowd control

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Public Safety and Health Committee held a meeting Thursday, June 25, and nearly half of the agenda focused on improvements and adjustments that could be made to the Milwaukee Police Department -- one of them being the military-grade equipment MPD purchases for crowd control.

MPD leaders explained the type of equipment the department has and how it uses it.

During the meeting, Milwaukee police said they couldn’t share the quantity of their equipment but spoke of what some officers carry, including handguns, rifles and Tasers.

They also explained their possession of a BearCat, which some think looks like a tank or military vehicle, but police say it’s actually used as a rescue and defense vehicle.

It was noted that other local municipalities do have military vehicles they can bring to Milwaukee.

The committee approved that resolution to move on to the full council, assuring that all police purchases of crowd-control and military-style equipment would first be approved by the Common Council, although they initially did question the use of that equipment.

Other items on the agenda also related to Milwaukee police were held over for a special committee meeting prior to their next full council meeting which will occur on July 7.