Milwaukee Police Officers to Stand Trial in Brutal Beating of Unarmed Black Man

Black residents were incensed when four months went by before charges were filed against white police officers accused of punching, kicking and choking a biracial man outside a house party. The 2004 incident intensified racial tensions in this city that is 37 percent black and has some of the nation's most segregated neighborhoods. With the trial of three officers accused of the beating set to start Monday, some say the animosity has eased. And the defendants and nine other officers have been fired. However, the black community still will watch the outcome closely. In October 2004, Frank Jude Jr., two white women and a black friend went to a party at the home of police officer Andrew Spengler in a mostly white, working-class neighborhood on the city's south side. The four left, but prosecutors say a group of off-duty officers followed them out to the street and some of the officers beat Jude severely while using a racial slur. [more]

'If Frank Jude could be beaten half to death, so can you.' [more]
Original Reports Stated Jude was Sodomized with a Knife by Milwaukee Police [more]
The trial is being streamed live on Court TV Extra. [more]

Officer Involved in Vicious Beating of Black Man Won't get his Job Back
The first supervisor on the scene of the Frank Jude Jr. beating either failed "miserably" to control the situation or has been "scapegoated" because the Milwaukee Police Department's chain of command failed him, according to testimony in a hearing Wednesday. Corstan Court, a sergeant who was demoted by Chief Nannette Hegerty, is fighting to get his stripes back in a hearing before the Fire and Police Commission. He was one of 13 members punished for the Oct. 24, 2004, incident. Court is the only on-duty officer appealing his discipline. Jude and another man went to the off-duty police officer party with two women. They left quickly and were accused of stealing a badge. No badge has been found. Jude was kicked and punched in the head, body and groin repeatedly, had a pen stuck in both ears and knife put to his head, according to Jude and witnesses. Hegerty testified that Court failed to perform the basic duties of a police supervisor. She said he left the scene without telling others, did not separate the off-duty officers suspected in the beating, didn't call an ambulance for Jude, didn't request enough help, didn't arrest anyone and let witnesses leave the scene. [more]