DOJ Case Summary: U.S. v. Bartlett et al

On October 24, 2004, a group of off-duty Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) officers, which included Officers Jon Bartlett, Andrew Spengler, and Daniel Masarik, viciously abused Lovell Harris and Frank Jude, whom they falsely suspected of having stolen a police badge during a party at one of the officers’ homes. As the victims attempted to leave the party, the officers confronted them and surrounded their truck, brandished knives, and physically pulled the victims from the vehicle. When the search of the victims and their car failed to locate the badge, two officers forced Harris to sit on a curb at knife-point, and one then cut Harris’s right cheek with a knife. As many as ten officers repeatedly punched and kicked Jude in the head, body, and groin for 10 to 15 minutes. Bartlett also stabbed a sharp object into both of Jude’s ears, cut his clothes from his body with a knife, and threatened him with a knife and a gun.

Officers Ryan Lemke, Jon Clausing, Joseph Stromei, and Joseph Schabel (who was on duty) pleaded guilty prior to trial and were sentenced to 1 year, 28 months, 2 years, and 32 months in prison, respectively. On July 26, 2007, Bartlett, Spengler, and Masarik were convicted by a federal jury of violating 18 U.S.C. 241 and 242 (deprivations of rights under color of law). In November 2007, Bartlett was sentenced to 208 months in prison; Spengler and Masarik received 188 months each. This successful prosecution followed a state prosecution that ended in acquittals or mistrials for all of the officers charged.

The prosecution team was awarded a 2008 Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service.

Read the press releases:

Three Former Milwaukee Police Officers Found Guilty of Civil Rights Crimes

Three Former Milwaukee Police Officers Sentenced on Civil Rights-related Charges