School resource officers in MPS; new delay, judge's deadline nears

MILWAUKEE - There is a new delay in the dispute over school resource officers (SROs) in Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). 

Milwaukee officials said the city cannot comply with a judge's deadline requiring officers to return to MPS. That deadline was set for Thursday, Feb. 27.

Effort to secure SROs in schools

The backstory:

Wisconsin law required school resource officers to be back in Milwaukee Public Schools by January 2024. They were not. 

"They were ordered to do this a long time ago," said Charlene Abughrin.

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Abughrin is an MPS parent who sued the school board and the city. The judge ruled in favor of Abughrin He ordered that SROs be reinstated by Feb. 27 – and that they enroll in school resource officer training. 

The City of Milwaukee is now asking for more time so officers can complete the training – saying it is critical to do so for student safety and success. 

What they're saying:

"If they don’t have school resource officers in school by tomorrow morning, by the date the judge gave, Feb 27 – then we believe they are in contempt of the judge’s order," said Lauren Greuel, WILL Associate Counsel. "We can’t continue to stay in this in between phase of ‘we’re working on it’ forever."

Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS)

Milwaukee City Attorney Evan Goyke released the following statement on Wednesday, Feb. 26:

"The City has filed a motion seeking relief from Judge Borowski’s order issued on February 20th. In his order, the Judge declared that Milwaukee Police Officers should be deployed into Milwaukee Public Schools prior to the completion of the specific training required by state law. The City believes this decision places too much risk on City tax payers and is counter to the best interests of the City, the individual officers, the school district, and the students and staff of the schools. While we have every confidence that our officers will act lawfully and with distinction when deployed as School Resource Officers, we believe the specific training required by state law is critical to the long term success of this program. Accordingly, the City has asked the Judge for relief from this portion of his order and to delay the deployment of officers until the required training can be performed. 

"The Police Department has posted the position internally and the Common Council will act in special session to approve the agreement with MPS as quickly as the city charter allows. The City remains committed to complying with the law as well as the Judge’s order and will deploy School Resource Officers as quickly as possible and with the required training completed."

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What's next:

Ultimately, it will be up to the judge to determine whether to grant an extension of a deadline to comply with his order. That decision comes on Thursday.