Police Chief Edward Flynn said a video shown in a courtroom last week of young men on a Milwaukee street flashing guns, cash and drugs and threatening to shoot police is evidence of sophisticated criminals making propaganda to recruit new members while spreading intimidation over social media.
The video was filmed in the middle of the day at N. 32nd St. and W. Auer Ave. — which is just four blocks from the Milwaukee Police Department's District 7 station. The corner where the young men were waving guns can be seen from District 7's squad car parking lot.
On the video, made last summer, a man armed with what appears to be a MAC-10 machine pistol slung around his neck looks up Auer Ave. toward District 7 and says: "It's MAC-aroni time. Police gonna get shot at, too."
Flynn told the Journal-Sentinel the video becoming public should help residents in Milwaukee understand what police are up against. The chief said he has seen many such videos of criminals in Milwaukee.
"They jump out of their cars and spend five minutes flashing their guns, gold teeth, money and drugs and off they go," the chief said Sunday. "They are trying to send this message, they can operate with impunity. They can't. But if they can create that thought in the minds of the vulnerable, they see that as helping them recruit. They don't own any piece of Milwaukee, but they can create that appearance for what essentially are propaganda videos. They are sophisticated. They want more members. They want to demonstrate they have power."