Juneteenth Day celebration organizers, police prepare to handle large crowds

MILWAUKEE -- On Friday, June 19th, hundreds will celebrate Juneteenth in Milwaukee. Juneteenth Day commemorates the day when the last of the slaves were told of the Emancipation Proclamation.

On Thursday, final preparations were being made by organizers and police to handle the big crowds.

The Juneteenth Day celebration in Milwaukee includes both a parade and a street festival.

Organizers and police expect the celebration to go off without a hitch.

"They have an outstanding security team that's been in place for a long time and they work closely with us as a police department to insure that individuals who want to engage in disruptive behavior are dealt with fairly and appropriately and removed from the grounds," Milwaukee Police Department Lt. Tim Lietzke said.

Police are referring to problems they saw in the past -- when there was trouble getting attendees to leave at closign time.

The past three years there have been no major problems.

The street festival is from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Friday -- on MLK Drive between Center Street and Burleigh.