Wisconsin Supreme Court upholds ex-Milwaukee police officer's firing for racist post after Sterling Brown's arrest

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled a former Milwaukee police officer was properly fired for posting racist memes after the arrest of a Milwaukee Bucks player, which later triggered a shakeup within the Milwaukee Police Department.

The court said in a 54-page opinion Tuesday that former Officer Erik A. Andrade received process due to him under both state law and the U.S. Constitution when he was fired in 2018.

Andrade was one of the Milwaukee police officers involved in the arrest and tasing of former Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown in January 2018 in a Walgreens parking lot.

Police confronted Brown over a parking violation, but he wasn't charged.

Andrade was suspended for violating the department’s code of conduct after posting a series of racist memes about the incident and was later fired. Andrade's posts were referenced in a federal civil rights lawsuit brought by Brown's attorneys against the police department and the city, claiming wrongful arrest and excessive force.

Andrade sued the Fire and Police Commissioners board, contesting his termination.

In its 5-2 decision Tuesday, the high court said then-police Chief Alfonso Morales properly explained the evidence that supported firing Andrade and decided the chief gave him an ample chance to respond.

The city of Milwaukee in 2021 settled Brown's lawsuit for $750,000. The settlement also required the police department to change its standard operating procedures, including changes to its fair and impartial policing policy and training and career development programs.

The police department also was required to more deeply look into how it interacts with citizens, conducts field interviews, its search and seizure policy, arrest authority, personnel investigation, use of force policy and body cameras use.

Several officers were suspended and others were retrained after an internal investigation. An appeals court later upheld the FPC's decision to fire Andrade.

Justices Brian Hagedorn, Ann Walsh Bradley, Rebecca Dallet, Jill Karofsky and Janet Protasiewicz ruled in the majority.

In their dissent, Chief Justice Annette Ziegler and Justice Rebecca Bradley said, while they didn't condone Andrade’s behavior, they believed his due process rights had been violated.

Brown, who played for the Bucks from 2017 until 2020, plays for a professional team in Germany.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Supreme Court upholds ex-Milwaukee police officer's firing