Wisconsin's Supreme Court accepts former Milwaukee cop's termination case
The Wisconsin Supreme Court will accept a case stemming from the arrest of former Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown that later triggered a shakeup within the Milwaukee Police Department.
The court said Thursday it would take the case — Andrade v. City of Milwaukee Board of Fire and Police Commissioners.
The appeal was brought by Erik A. Andrade, one of the Milwaukee police officers involved in Brown's January 2018 arrest and tasing in a Walgreens parking lot. At issue reportedly was a parking violation. Brown wasn't charged.
Andrade was fired after a posting a series of racist memes about the incident.
Brown referenced Andrade's posts in a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Milwaukee Police Department and the city, claiming wrongful arrest and excessive force.
Andrade sued the Fire and Police Commissioners board, arguing his termination was wrongful. He has contended it resulted from statements for violating social media policy, not for his conduct on the night of Brown's arrest.
The city of Milwaukee in 2021 settled Brown's lawsuit for $750,000. The settlement also required the Milwaukee Police Department to change its standard operating procedures, including changes to its fair and impartial policing policy and training and career development programs.
The department also was required to look into how it interacts with citizens, conducts field interviews, its search and seizure policy, arrest authority, personnel investigations and its use of force policy and body cameras use.
An internal investigation ended with several officers suspended and others retrained. An appeals court later upheld the FPC's decision to fire Andrade.
The first brief from the petitioners is due to the Supreme Court by July 24.
Brown, who played for the Bucks from 2017 until 2020, played last season for the Raptors 905 of the NBA's G League and briefly for the Los Angeles Lakers.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin's Supreme Court accepts ex-Milwaukee cop's termination case
