Two protests went head-to-head at Milwaukee City Hall Friday, with the Police Association calling for higher pay and even National Guard support, while community group BLOC says crime is down and officers shouldn’t get raises until service improves.
Inside City Hall, two groups with very different views on policing stood face-to-face: the Milwaukee Police Association and BLOC, Black Leaders Organizing Communities.
Watch: Dueling protests clash at Milwaukee City Hall over police pay raises and community funding
Dueling protests clash at Milwaukee City Hall over police pay raises and community funding
The Milwaukee Police Association circled the mayor’s locked office, signs in hand, demanding pay raises.
“We’re number 5 in the nation for line of duty deaths in the country, and he doesn’t see that we are worth 12.75. But he can give himself a 15% raise — that’s not fair. Where did that money come from?” said Alexander Ayala of the Police Association.
But community organizers with BLOC pushed back, chanting from the ground floor of City Hall…