From ChicagoTribune.com

MILWAUKEE—
At least 93 Milwaukee police officers have been disciplined for violating the laws and ordinances they were sworn to uphold, a newspaper investigation has found.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report (http://bit.ly/pPwjVW ), based on internal affairs records, said the offenses range from sexual assault and domestic violence to drunken driving and shoplifting.

All those officers still work for the Police Department, where they can make arrests, testify in court and patrol neighborhoods. The newspaper found that officers who break the law often aren't fired or prosecuted.

Nine of the 93 officers were convicted of crimes, the newspaper reported. Some spent time behind bars. Yet when their criminal cases were concluded, they went back to their jobs with the Milwaukee police.

At least one, John P. Corbett, was a police sergeant during the day and an inmate at night. He was convicted of driving drunk with a child in the car and did his job at the police station while on work release from jail. His 13-year-old daughter told authorities Corbett took the wheel after she got lost driving back from a tavern.

It took the Journal Sentinel nearly two years of records requests, a court case and $7,500 in fees to compile the list of 93 officers, which is about 5 percent of the force.

The Police Department, district attorney's office and Fire and Police Commission -- a civilian board that oversees hiring and discipline -- share responsibility for keeping officers in line.

Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn declined to answer the newspaper's questions but issued a statement.

"We recognize that alcohol abuse, divorce and suicide are overrepresented in the law enforcement profession, and we actively educate, intervene, discipline and provide resources for our members to ensure they understand the inherent risks of the job, and the personal and professional consequences of their behavior," Flynn said in his statement.

Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm also declined to be interviewed. But his chief deputy, Kent Lovern, noted in a statement that 70 Milwaukee officers have been charged over the past 10 years.

Of those, 42 were convicted of misdemeanors or felonies under Milwaukee County's jurisdiction, according to an analysis by the newspaper. Most of them are no longer on the force.

However, the list was started in 2000, making it incomplete. About one-third of the officers identified by the newspaper were disciplined before then.

Michael G. Tobin, executive director of the Fire and Police Commission, said improvements have been made to the commission over the past decade. In 2001, for example, the board began requiring a written psychological test for job candidates. Since 2005, it has been followed up with an in-person mental health exam.

As for disciplinary appeals, commissioners can't always do what they want because they must follow state law, Tobin said. He believes they try their best to protect the public without violating officers' rights.

"It's not a fail-safe system," he said.

At least one person in law enforcement took a harder stance. Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke said officers who break the law should be fired. He said illegal conduct undermines officers' authority and erodes the public trust.

"There should be a higher standard for (an) ... employee who enforces the law than for a worker who cuts the grass," said Clarke, who worked for the Milwaukee Police Department for 24 years. "There's no understanding why a cop would drive drunk. There's no understanding why a cop would be abusive to a spouse. When you start to justify and rationalize this type of behavior, it gets ugly."

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Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com