A series of incidents involving unruly crowds at Milwaukee’s lakefront has led the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office to increase its police presence, especially on hot days when fights are more likely to occur.
Chaos erupted Monday night when a Milwaukee County Sheriff’s deputy was captured on camera tasering a man who was running from them.
A separate video from Saturday showed deputies responding to reports of a fight near the lakefront, with tasers in hand.
The sheriff’s office was questioned about the use of force on Wednesday, with Sergeant Robert Worzalla explaining that unruly crowds have been a recurring issue.
“We have a lot of juveniles down here on these hot, warm days, and it just leads to animosity and then fights are breaking out,” Worzalla said, noting that such fights are on the rise this summer.
Worzalla addressed concerns from the public about safety at the lakefront, suggesting that more parental supervision is needed.
“There needs to be a little bit more parenting,” Worzalla said. “What we see a lot of times is parents coming down here and dropping off their 10 to 14-year-olds and leaving them down here for hours.”
The sheriff’s office highlighted the challenges posed by crowds rushing toward incidents, which complicates safety efforts.
“Stop, stay back, that is all you really have to do,” Worzalla said. “What we see is something happens, and everybody runs toward the incident.”
The department plans to dispatch more deputies to the lakefront, especially on hotter days.
“A lot of stuff is weather dependent,” Worzalla said. “You saw Saturday was 95, Monday was 95, that adds a lot. You are standing down here right now, and it’s a cool seventy degrees, you know, there is not a lot of people down here right now.”
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Milwaukee lakefront incidents prompt increased police presence
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