"Stop and frisk" lawsuit stalls in Milwaukee Common Council

Civil Right's attorney Jon Safran says he's represented clients suing Milwaukee PD over "stopping and frisking" for years.

"Involving the strip search of body cavities a few years ago," Safran said. "And a number of those cases involved alleged improper illegal stops, frisks."

The city has reached a tentative agreement with the ACLU. $1.9 million for consultant and attorney fees, plus a new policy where police must document all searches.

"It certainly should take any suspicion of the police acting improperly away if they have documented it," Alderman Terry Witkowski said.

The new policy would also offer training. A consultant would monitor city compliance for five years, but aldermen paused to sign off, without a dollar amount on how much the consultant would cost.

"Right now we do not know the cost. I'm uncomfortable voting on something where we do not know the cost," Alderman Russell Stamper said. "1.9 plus whatever the cost is going to be does not sit well with me."

Safran says the proposed changes would be a big step forward for Milwaukee.

"And get away from a belief that officers are only there to act as enforcers, but maybe now they can be problem solvers too."

The Milwaukee Police Department was at the meeting,  but did not comment,  citing this is still pending litigation.

The finance and personnel committee will take a new vote once they know how much the consultant costs.