Activists Protest MPD After Three Fatal Car Chases and Spike in Shootings
Protesters outside District Five demand stricter pursuit rules after a recent surge in police violence.
By Amit Ricci ·
The Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression organized a demonstration outside Milwaukee Police District Five on Tuesday. Dozens of participants gathered to challenge the department's handling of recent high-speed chases and officer-involved shootings. The group argues that current tactics have led to a dangerous increase in fatal incidents over the past year.
Triffany Stark, a local advocate, spoke at the rally about the personal cost of these pursuits. Her child's father was struck by a fleeing driver during a police chase in June 2024. He suffered paralysis from the neck down and died on October 24, 2025. Stark stated that the injuries sustained in the crash directly led to his death.
Stark has spent more than a year pushing the Fire and Police Commission to overhaul pursuit policies. She expressed frustration that the city's rules have not kept pace with the frequency of accidents. "I'm very triggered that this keeps happening when we have things that we can do to prevent it, this is so preventable," she said. Her comments referred specifically to the death of 18-year-old David Hunt on November 1.
Hunt was killed when a vehicle being chased by officers crashed into him. This incident marks the third fatal police pursuit in Milwaukee in the last year. The Milwaukee Police Department implemented tighter pursuit guidelines in February 2026. However, the department rejected additional restrictions proposed by the Fire and Police Commission earlier this spring.
Stark argued that the department should limit chases for non-violent misdemeanors. "We weren't asking for all of them to stop, we understand there's violent crimes and people need to be chased and pursued in those cases but for a non-violent crime, misdemeanors. No one should die over an expired license plates, I would stop those chases because there are other ways of catching those people," she told reporters. She cited expired license plates as a common reason for chases that end in tragedy.
Demonstrators also raised concerns about the frequency of officer-involved shootings. Milwaukee police data shows at least nine such incidents in 2026. This number exceeds the 13 shootings recorded in all of 2025 and the 12 recorded in 2024. The spike in violence has fueled calls for greater transparency and accountability from city leadership.
A spokesperson for the Milwaukee Police Department wrote that the agency respects the public's right to peaceful assembly. The statement acknowledged the concerns raised by community members and affirmed the department's commitment to building trust. The department said it takes the feedback from the demonstration seriously as it reviews its operational protocols.
