The City of Milwaukee has been found in contempt of court for failing to station school resource officers in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), as reported by Journal Sentinel. According to Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge David Borowski, the city had until Thursday to comply or face a $1,000 daily fine. Borowski has since extended the deadline to March 15, giving the city and the Milwaukee Police Department time to meet the requirements and avoid the fines.
In response to the judge's earlier decision Milwaukee Public Schools promptly authorized $800,000 for its share of the costs; however, the city did not comply within the 10 days provided, leading to the contempt ruling on February 27, Spectrum News 1 has detailed. If the city fails to meet the March 15 deadline, it will have to retroactively pay fines beginning February 27 totaling $17,000 by the judge's count.
Amid the legal tussle, CBS 58 reports that Milwaukee Police Department has scheduled a state-mandated training session for the school resource officer to start on March 10. This step comes after the National Association of School Resource Officers confirmed it would send instructors to Milwaukee to conduct the 40-hour training course, which span over five days, meaning the earliest fully trained officers could be back in schools by Monday, March 17.
Judge Borowski expressed frustration with the city's inaction, stating, "In my view, it's been the city's intent for a year and a half, either intentionally or neglectfully, to run out the clock on this type of situation to not comply," signalling his impatience with the recurring delays Journal Sentinel reported. With the mandated training now on the schedule, the prolonged stand-off between Milwaukee's city administration and the legal mandate to safeguard schools with dedicated officers points toward a resolution, albeit a grudging one on behalf of the city's leadership.
