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"The highest of distinctions is service to others"
King George VI

Blood Center of Wisconsin... MPA Encourages Members to Participate!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

9:00 a.m. -to- 2:00 p.m.

Location: Local 215 Hall - 5625 W. Wisconsin Avenue

Call Laura @ 414.313.0884 w/questions

....donor sign-up ....see link

www.bcw.edu/badges

Pres. Hines and Alderman Donovan Commend Officers, Urge Residents to Cooperate with Police

**ALDERMAN DONOVAN TO HONOR POLICE & FIRE**

COME JOIN OUR PARTNER IN THE QUEST FOR A SAFE MILWAUKEE

SUPPORT THE ALDERMAN WHO SUPPORTS YOU

BOB DONOVAN CONTINUES TO BE THE FOREMOST ADVOCATE FOR
 PUBLIC SAFETY – OFFICER SAFETY – FIREFIGHTER SAFETY

 

JULY 30, 2010

BOB DONOVAN WANTS TO HONOR YOU

PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHED FLYER & INVITE

2010 MPA "GOLF OUTING" {link on left}

 

MILWAUKEE POLICE ASSOCIATION, LOCAL #21, IUPA, AFL-CIO

13TH ANNUAL MPA GOLF OUTING

MPA past President Jerry Dudzik passed away on Sunday, June 13, 2010

Jerome “Jerry” Dudzik
March 1, 1927  to  June 13, 2010
By:  William Ward

Milwaukee Police Association (MPA) past President Jerry Dudzik passed away on Sunday, June 13, 2010.

The Milwaukee Police Department changed rapidly after World War II with the recruiting of returning veterans to law enforcement.  One of those returning veterans was Jerome “Jerry” Dudzik who tried other employment upon his return but decided to become a Milwaukee police officer.  Jerry started with the MPD on 07-02-1951 and was assigned to District 2 as a rookie.  He loved law enforcement and became active in the Professional Policemen’s Protective Association (PPPA).  The PPPA changed its name to the Milwaukee Police Association (MPA) on 01-01-1977.

Never one to mince words, Jerry Dudzik soon became a leader of the PPA.  During this time the Association was undergoing changes and growing pains.  The size of the police force grew and the responsibilities of law enforcement became greater.

Soon Jerry was in the forefront as a PPPA leader during turbulent times.  The riots of 1967 changed the MPD.  Jerry was appointed MPA Trustee on 06-03-1967 just days before the civil disturbances began.  He went on to serve as President, Secretary-Treasurer and the second full-time police liaison officer. 

Facing a long time established mayor and an entrenched police chief who wanted no change the task ahead for Jerry and the other leaders of the PPPA was daunting.  Jerry Dudzik was up to the challenge as he and other trustees’ wielded the PPPA into a strong forward looking organization that took on issue after issue.

Kenneth J. Murray was the MPA’s first full time lawyer.

Ken Murray:  In Memorium

By:  Laurie A. Eggert

Kenneth J. Murray was the MPA’s first full time lawyer.  Before he was retained, the MPA hired lawyers as needed.  But by 1975, the MPA realized that it needed an ongoing relationship with a lawyer that it could depend on day and night, a lawyer who would dedicate his career to fighting to develop and protect the rights of Milwaukee Police Officers.

The MPA could not have made a better choice than Ken.  He had all the attributes that were needed to do the job with intelligence, fire, passion, tenacity and flair.  He vigorously represented the MPA and its members for more than 20 years.

 Basic Rights for Cops During Disciplinary Investigations

Few people on the job remember the days when the MPD conducted Boards of Inquiry, where the Department conducted a formal trial of an officer accused of rule violations.  If the officer was allowed to have a union representative at the trial, the rep was not allowed to say anything.  No lawyers were allowed.  In that trial, the officer represented himself, and was expected not only to testify, but to cross examine the department’s witnesses against him.  The trial board was made up of three supervisory officers and two rank and file officers.  See where this was going?

One of the first major cases Ken worked on was the complaint before the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (WERC) that brought this to a screeching halt.  Although Chief of Police Harold A. Breier contended that allowing union representation unlawfully interfered with his statutory right to discipline officers, Murray convinced the WERC that the law required officers to have the assistance of a union rep or attorney at the trial board as a spokesperson on his behalf.  The WERC also commanded the MPD to allow union representation when the Department compelled officers to file a written report or to submit to interrogation about matters which could lead to discipline.

The MPD decided to dump the Board of Inquiry, and began to allow union representation to officers writing Matter Ofs and being questioned orally.  The complaint, hearings and decision took four years of battle, and the fights continued through the years as the rights were refined and enforced. 

 Forcing Chiefs to Adhere to the US Constitution

Did you know that before Ken took one of those disciplinary cases all the way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the MPD could order an officer to give a statement without assuring the officer that his answers could not be used against him in a criminal prosecution?  The cop had to choose between his job and his liberty.  The MPD was forced to change its procedures, guaranteeing that police officers are entitled to the same rights as any other citizen.

And in that same case, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the MPD’s internal investigators had violated an officer’s right to due process when they interrogated her for 14 hours and refused to allow her to see a doctor despite that fact that she was throwing up blood.  The MPD needed to be told that it could not treat cops worse than criminals.

Ken also got the courts to guarantee the right of a police officer to run for non-partisan office without taking a leave of absence.

MILWAUKEE DEMOCRAT – NO FRIEND TO MPA MEMBERS

BY: Mark A. Sikora, 
MPA Secretary/Treasurer 

In the early morning hours of the Wisconsin senate budget hearings, Milwaukee Democrat Spencer Coggs inserted a provision into the budget changing State Statute 62.50. This statute outlines the manner in which the Chief of Police of the City of Milwaukee may discipline our members under State Law. 

Changes Ahead for the MPA

BY: Mark A. Sikora, 
MPA Secretary/Treasurer 

The recent Fall annual Trustee elections were completed on October 09, 2009. The four candidates were, Rudolfo Gomez, Dale Bormann, Thomas Fischer, and John Balcerzak. 

The winners of the election were Rudolfo Gomez and Dale Bormann. Rudy and Dale will take their seats on the Board of Trustees effective January 01, 2010. Both Fischer and Balcerzak’s Trustee term will end on December 31, 2009. 

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