Who are the federal agents being sent to Milwaukee?

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MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The United States Attorney's Office for Wisconsin's Eastern District said Friday, there will not be federal agents on the ground in unmarked cars responding to protesters here in Milwaukee, like there were Portland.

But there will be more detectives and analysts from federal agencies sent to assist Milwaukee Police from the FBI, DEA, ATF and U.S Marshals Service for "Operation LeGend."

“Operation LeGend is not about federal troops or federal staff on the streets of Milwaukee patrolling," Wisconsin's Eastern District US Attorney Matthew Krueger said. "That makes it very different from the situation in Portland, Oregon.”

The operation is named after a 4-year-old boy who was shot to death in Kansas City while sleeping, and has been operating in Kansas City for more than two weeks. The operation expands on an existing program providing more federal agents to assist in Milwaukee Police investigations. Similar federal assistance will be provided to Chicago and Albuquerque.

MPD said they are committed to that partnership, but the department does not want federal officers confronting protesters in the city.

“We, the Milwaukee Police Department, did not request, and respectfully decline the deployment of federal agents to Milwaukee for those purposes,” Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales said.

The original operation "Relentless Pursuit" started in Milwaukee in December  when the federal government tried reducing violence, in part, by focusing on a small number of individuals they say are responsible for a large portion of city crime.

“Milwaukee was chosen along with six other cities, precisely because of it’s very high violent crime rates,” Krueger said.

Crime has only increased since. Homicides are about 90 percent higher than this time last year.

The Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention said the federal government should send crime prevention resources to the city, not enforcement

“I think we have to look seriously at what types of resources are showing up in communities, and historically there has been greater investment in the punishment industry,” Office of Violence Prevention Director Reggie Moore said.

Krueger listed drug trafficking and domestic violence as two areas federal agencies are working with MPD to reduce crime. He said there will be more details on what this deployment will look like in the coming weeks.

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