REPORT: Milwaukee DA refused to prosecute over 60% of felony cases filed by police

According to Wisconsin Right now, the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office in Wisconsin chose not to prosecute more than 60 percent of felony charges last year.

Prosecutors also refused to pursue charges in over 80 percent of misdemeanor filings in December of 2020 alone.

The numbers came from the amount of cases that were rejected after being filed, so the total number of cases is even higher that the Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm’s office refused file. “No process cases,” the number of dropped cases, was up about 10 percent overall in 2020 compared to 2019. The lower number of prosecutions has led to a steep decline in the Milwaukee County jail population.

Dale Bormann, Milwaukee Police Association (MPA) president, said the number of cases that Chisholm’s office is refusing to prosecute has risen to a “ridiculously high” level. “It decreases the officers’ and detectives’ morale,” Bormann said back in April. “[When people] are not charged after doing a crime, they get out there and continue to do crime. It brings down the city as a whole.”

He also attributed the decrease in cases prosecuted to policies that are generally supported by politicians on the left. “Liberals want a different justice system where no one’s going to jail…liberal prosecutors are not putting people in jail like they should,” he said. “They are letting people out, and it’s very unfortunate for the person who is a victim of a crime.”

According to data released by the district attorney’s office, a wide racial disparity has been created as cases were being dropped. Cases involving black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American defendants were being dropped at a lower rate than cases involving white defendants.

On Sunday, a man by the name of Darrell Brooks drove through a crowd of Christmas parade-goers in Waukesha, Wisconsin, killing at least five and injuring dozens of others. Brooks had recently been released on a low bond, which was recommended by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.