A 'novel theory': Milwaukee Common Council to consider ordinance proposal targeting city's worst reckless drivers
A proposed ordinance that would provide an avenue for the city of Milwaukee to take away the vehicles of repeat reckless drivers, perhaps permanently, received committee approval Thursday.
The proposal, described by one Milwaukee police official as a “novel theory” that to his knowledge is not in use in other cities, hinges on the idea that reckless driving could be considered a public nuisance and that violators are then subject to penalties other than traffic tickets or criminal prosecution.
“I think it’s on solid legal ground — I’m just not aware of other jurisdictions doing this,” Nick DeSiato, the chief of the staff of the Milwaukee Police Department, said during Thursday’s Public Safety and Health Committee meeting.
The proposed ordinance, which would label a series of traffic offenses as a public nuisance, received unanimous approval from Alds. Marina Dimitrijevic, José Pérez, Mark Borkowski, Scott Spiker and Khalif Rainey. It also has the support of Ald. Michael Murphy, a co-sponsor of the legislation, and Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
The item could come before the full Common Council at its March 22 meeting.
The idea, first proposed by Police Chief Jeffrey Norman, according to Murphy, is that the city would target its most extreme repeat offenders of reckless driving by taking them to civil court and establishing their behavior as a public nuisance. If the judge agrees, the court could issue an order to stop the nuisance.
If violated, the city could then ask the court to impose sanctions, such as temporarily or permanently taking away the offender’s car.
“The reality is none of the other legal remedies are working,” Pérez said. “Tickets, bench warrants… none of it is working. This will provide another tool, because reckless driving is a huge complaint. I live on a busy street, I see it day in, day out. There are individuals who just should not be driving.”
The nuisance proposal is one of two novel ideas city officials have pursued recently as reckless driving continues to frustrate residents across the city. It is regularly cited as a top public safety issue, right alongside the city’s historic rate of violent crime since 2020.
The other idea, approved by the Fire and Police Commission in February, will allow police to tow unregistered vehicles that were used in at least one of four infractions: reckless driving, speeding 25 mph above the speed limit, fleeing police or racing.
Starting May 1, officers will tow those cars during traffic stops or otherwise whenever an officer “comes into contact” with a vehicle involved in a crash investigation.
That idea was designed in part to target the pervasiveness of unregistered vehicles and their tendency to engage in reckless driving, after years of complaints from residents. The public nuisance proposal discussed Thursday, in comparison, is meant to target the city’s worst reckless drivers — whether their car is registered or not.
In the last year, there are 11 drivers that Milwaukee police have stopped eight or more times — drivers who already have had their license suspended or revoked, according to the Police Department. Two people have been stopped 12 times.
The proposed ordinance does not specify how many infractions in a certain timeframe would be considered a nuisance. DeSiato said the “starting point” for targeting offenders would be around eight infractions in a year. He said the department would warn those drivers in advance that they could face litigation with additional offenses.
The proposed ordinance does spell out what infractions would be considered a public nuisance. That includes fleeing police, disobeying traffic signals, speeding, reckless driving, operating while intoxicated and racing, among others.
But it also does not spell out what should happen to juvenile offenders, either. DeSiato said the proposal is not meant to target minors and the Police Department is working with Milwaukee County Children’s Court to create diversion and mentorship opportunities for them instead.
Coggs, who expressed general support for the proposal, said the sponsors of the legislation should seriously consider inserting language that addresses juveniles and specifies how many offenses over a certain period of time would constitute a nuisance.
“Much of the conversation today was about the chief’s intentions and what the sponsor’s intentions were,” she said. “Much of it is not codified within the legislation. I have a deep concern about that.
“We have a plethora of lawsuits that we continue to have to deal with about things that are left to discretion — officers and people in charge at the moment. The chief can change tomorrow.”
As a result of Thursday’s meeting, Murphy said he intended to add language that would require a review of who is being impacted by the nuisance litigation every six months.
In an interview after the meeting, he said he would consider Coggs’ point about juveniles and the accumulation of offenses.
“I’m going to certainly think about that. I think those were thoughtful suggestions,” Murphy said. “When I have an opportunity to speak with her and get a better feeling for what her concerns are, we might make some changes on the floor.”
Contact Elliot Hughes at elliot.hughes@jrn.com or 414-704-8958. Follow him on Twitter @elliothughes12.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee committee OKs proposal targeting repeat reckless drivers
