Milwaukee cops found guilty in Jude case

After nearly four days of deliberations, a federal jury on July 27 found former Milwaukee cops Jon Bartlett, Andrew Spengler and Daniel Masarik guilty of conspiring to violate the civil rights of Frank Jude Jr. and his friend Lovell Harris and of assaulting Jude. Both Jude and Harris are Black.

Jude at news conference after verdict.

The jury acquitted suspended cop Ryan Packard of both counts. Four former officers earlier pleaded guilty to federal crimes in the case. Other cops not charged were fired from the police force due to community protests in May 2005.

Jude was nearly killed on Oct. 24, 2004, when he was savagely beaten during a party by as many as 15 off-duty white cops in Bayview, a Milwaukee neighborhood. The cops claimed Jude stole the badge and wallet of one of the officers, who hosted the event at his house. He was hospitalized for days and required reconstructive surgery. No badge or wallet was found and Jude was never charged with anything. Just before the beating of Jude, Harris and two white women companions of Jude were able to escape. Before escaping, Harris was slightly injured.

Jude in hospital after beating.

Spengler, Bartlett and Masarik each face up to 20 years in prison and $500,000 in fines at their sentencing hearing Nov. 29. These three cops were acquitted by an all-white jury in a state trial in April 2006. Their acquittal sparked a 4,000-person protest and other massive protests, many led by City Alderman Michael McGee Jr., who is now in federal custody on various state and federal charges that McGee’s supporters challenge.

Despite the cops’ convictions, they all continue to receive pay and benefits under a Wisconsin state law unique to Milwaukee. This law states that while firefighters or cops appeal their dismissals from the Fire and Police Commission or until they are sentenced on a felony, they continue to be paid. Since being fired in May 2005, Masarik, Spengler and Bartlett have received $475,000 in pay and benefits.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett; Milwaukee Police Chief Nanette Hegerty; U.S. Attorney Steven M. Biskupic, who tried the federal case; former Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann; and other political servants of the rich, hailed the Jude verdict as justice for the Black community in Milwaukee. They opportunistically are using the Jude verdict in an effort to show the ostensible “fairness” of the Milwaukee and U.S. court system. That is a ruse on their part. All of these political servants are an integral part of the oppressive apparatus to keep people subjugated, particularly people of color.

The Jude verdict in the federal case is a partial victory for the working class and oppressed in Milwaukee and nationally. This victory didn’t result, however, from any love for the people on the part of the racist oppressors.

The Black community and its allies, with Jude and his family’s support, won this victory through years of protests and innumerable courageous sacrifices. In the process they exposed to a large degree the nakedly barbaric and racist nature of the entire oppressive apparatus in Milwaukee from the police force to the courts. And the beating of Jude was so savage he gained empathy from large segments of the white and Latin@ working class, many of whom started questioning out loud what the real role of the police is.

In this possibly explosive rebellion-type situation the rich bosses were forced to make concessions. Thus the cops who beat Jude became liabilities and the judicial process was injected with some “credibility.”

But the justice that has been won thus far is due mostly to the struggle put up by the Black community in coalitions such as Justice for Jude Justice for All!, to demand justice for Jude and all victims of police terror.

Protest actions are continuing to demand full justice for Jude. This includes an Aug. 3 community march and rally down Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, historically a vital part of the Black community in Milwaukee but which now is being quickly gentrified. This action will make the connections between the bosses’ war at home and their wars abroad.

Jude also has a $30 million claim pending against the City of Milwaukee on behalf of himself and his spouse Maria Jude that he filed on June 19, 2006.