"I am the (expletive) police"

See documents here.

By Dan Polley

Ronald Denard Bridges was hired as a Milwaukee police officer on Feb. 17, 1992, but since that time, he has found himself sitting at the defendant’s table in court several times.

Despite the outcry after the Frank Jude beating incident, there continue to be cases involving Milwaukee police officers on the force who engage in criminal activity and continue to be employed by the city.

Consider the story of Ronald Bridges: He’s been convicted twice of crimes (stemming from the same incident), failed to meet all his pretrial supervision appointments in another case, had a warrant issued against him, and has been the subject of a restraining order.

But he’s kept his badge.

Bridges’ trouble with the law began in 2001, according to court records.

In July 2001, he was charged in Milwaukee County Circuit Court with engaging in violent and abusive behavior, a criminal misdemeanor. According to the criminal complaint, Bridges allegedly pushed his wife in the chest and grabbed her by the neck when she was five months pregnant.

The criminal complaint says that Bridges came home and took $15 from Dianne Bridges’ 8-year-old daughter “in order to go drinking.” The complaint says that Ronald pushed Dianne in the chest and “then grabbed her by the neck with both hands and lifter her up in the air.” Dianne was five months pregnant at the time.

As part of the case, the criminal complaint says, Bridges “was offered an opportunity to go to counseling through a diversion agreement/program but defendant failed to complete the program.”

A September 2001 report to the court from Wisconsin Correctional Services says that Bridges did not keep all of his appointments for pretrial monitoring. “We request that the court address his attendance issues,” said the report. “The defendant was scheduled for eight (8) contacts with WCS since the last court date on 08/09/2001 and kept three (3) of these appointments.”

However, reports from treatment providers describe Bridges as being participatory and engaged and accepting responsibility.

In October 2001, the case was dismissed after the state’s witness did not appear in court.

New charges

It wasn’t long, however, before Bridges was back in court.

In 2002, he was in a car accident that ultimately resulted in two criminal convictions against him.

The charges stem from a vehicle accident about 2:30 a.m. May 11, 2002, when a van with a driver and passenger was exiting a parking lot to westbound Burleigh Avenue near 78th Street.

Bridges allegedly struck that van with his van and went up the median and struck a light pole.

After he got out of his van, testified Shawnda McKee, the owner of the other van, he said, “You crazy b--ch. You stupid b--ch. This is a brand new f---ing truck. You crazy b--ch.”

In the trial, McKee, who was the passenger in the van at the time, said that Bridges was yelling obscenities and that he grabbed her neck and scratched and bruised her.

McKee said at the trial that Bridges pounded the top of the vehicle and shouted, “You f---ing stop.”

When someone said the police had been called, McKee testified that Bridges said, “I am the f---ing police.”

Heather Lucas, the driver of the van at the time of the accident, testified at the trial that Bridges appeared intoxicated.

One of the officers to respond to the accident, Officer Steven Svensson, said that Bridges failed both a heel-to-toe and one-legged stand field sobriety tests.

Svensson also said at the trial that Bridges’ speech appeared to be slurred.

At the trial, both McKee and Lucas said Bridges had allegedly yelled at them, put his hands on McKee and got into a scuffle with other witnesses. Bridges then went back to his truck and was attempting to pull something out when the police arrived.

Lucas said at the trial that she thought he was getting a gun.

“People don’t go to their truck digging for nothing,” Lucas said at the trial.

An April 16, 2003  letter sent to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation from Heather Lucas said that Bridges claimed that he was insured by American Family Insurance, but that he did not have any insurance at the time of the accident.

Lucas was ticketed, first for failure to yield, reduced to obstructing traffic, the letter says. Lucas also claimed in the letter that Lucas’ ticket for the accident was written at 2:10 a.m. but that the accident report said the time of the accident was 2:35 a.m. The letter, submitted in the court file, says that a test to see if Bridges was impaired was not given until three hours later at a district station. The letter also raises questions about the veracity of other officers’ reports.

Bridges was eventually charged with battery and disorderly conduct in connection with the accident.

He was found guilty of both charges. He was sentenced to serve 25 days in the House of Correction, perform 200 hours of community service, and serve 2 years on probation. He also had to make a $100 contribution to a non-profit agency. In addition, he was ordered to complete an AODA assessment and anger management.

He was discharged from the probation on Jan. 26, 2005.

“His employment (as a police officer) has nothing to do with my representation of him,” said Geneva McKinley, the attorney who represented Bridges in the criminal case, when contacted by Frontpage Milwaukee. She would not make any further comment.

Restraining order

That same year, on Sept. 12, 2002, Bridges’ wife, Dianne, filed for a restraining order against him.

In the petition for a restraining order, Dianne said that “he was drunk we were arguing about something and he came up to my face and held his fists and said, ‘I’ll beat your f---ing ass.’ Later in the petition, she wrote, “In the past there has been violence such as choking me — by picking me up from the ground, pushed me down and slapped me.”

Attempts to reach Dianne Bridges by Frontpage Milwaukee were not successful.

The restraining order with a firearm restriction was granted on April 22, 2003. In a May 2003 affidavit to the court, Bridges said he believed the court commissioner had misused her discretion in granting the order. But the order was vacated on Aug. 29, 2003 upon a stipulation by both parties.

The Bridges were divorced on Sept. 29, 2003, but the agreement took effect on Nov. 3, 2003.

“Generically you will find that most people don’t bring an action often times the first time something happens. It’s used the second or third time in an attempt to resolve the marriage. Not an uncommon occurrence,” said Jerome Tepper, the attorney who represented Dianne in the divorce case.

As part of the divorce settlement, Ronald Bridges was ordered to pay Guardian ad Litem fees, which pays for an appointee of the court to determine the competency of the client and protective placement.

Ronald Bridges did not pay the fees and did not attend a court hearing on the matter on Aug. 17, 2005. That same day, a warrant for his arrest was ordered. The next day, Ronald appeared in court and the warrant was canceled.

Several attempts to reach Ronald Bridges by Frontpage Milwaukee have gone unsuccessfully. Bridges has not returned a phone call from a student journalist seeking comment.

Lisa Martin, who represented Bridges in the divorce case, declined to contact Bridges for the newspaper and declined to comment on the case.

Today, Bridges works days in District 4, which includes the north side down to Villard Avenue and west of 90th Street and east of Green Bay Avenue down to Glendale Avenue. He has been in that position since Sept. 12, 2004.

His police personnel card says that he was ordered dismissed from the department in 2003 for intoxication and failing to abide by laws of the state of Wisconsin. However, the personnel file says, in 2004, the chief decided to reduce the discipline imposed to a 30-day suspension.