Beating of Frank Jude Jr.

2004 police brutality incident in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Andrew Spengler
Jon Bartlett
Ryan Lemke
Joseph Schabel
Jon Clausing
Joseph Stromei
| accused = Ryan Packard (acquitted)
| motive = Control, racism

On the evening of October 23, 2004, Frank Jude and his friend, Lovell Harris, who is black, were invited by Kirsten Antonissen and Katie Brown to a housewarming party being hosted by police officer Andrew Spengler at his Bay View, Milwaukee home. Many of the persons at the party were off duty Milwaukee police officers. Upon arriving at Andrew Spengler's home, Jude and Harris told Antonissen that they felt uncomfortable and therefore wanted to leave. The group quickly left and shortly after doing so, Andrew Spengler reported that his wallet, which contained his police badge, was missing. At least ten men who were at Spengler's home went outside and confronted Jude, Harris, Antonissen, and Brown. Following a secret John Doe proceeding, on February 28, 2005, District Attorney E. Michael McCann filed felony charges against Daniel Masarik, Andrew Spengler, and Jon Bartlett. Bartlett and Masarik both faced charges of second degree recklessly endangering safety and substantial battery. Spengler was charged only with substantial battery. Masarik also faced an additional charge of perjury for testifying during the John Doe hearing that he never had any contact with Frank Jude. This perjury charge was handled separately from all others and eventually dropped.

On March 27, 2006, a joint jury trial commenced before Judge David Hansher, which was covered by Court TV. The prosecutors took the unusual step of challenging the racial composition of the jury when an all white jury was selected. The court rejected the prosecutors' challenge and permitted the case to proceed with an all white jury, laying the groundwork for much community outrage. The prosecution's task was made particularly difficult by the fact that nearly all of the eyewitnesses to the crime admitted drinking that evening, some heavily. Further, it was later revealed that one of the state's key witnesses, Joseph Schabel, the first on duty Milwaukee Police Officer to arrive at the scene, lied in his testimony. Also, the state was presented with credibility problems with respect to its two victims. Frank Jude had previously been convicted of the felonies of selling marijuana and bribing a police officer in 1996 and was convicted of the misdemeanors of battery and disorderly conduct in 2000. Lovell Harris was previously convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and with first degree intentional homicide. Shortly after 11 PM on April 14, 2006, after deliberating for roughly 27 hours, the jury returned its verdict, acquitting Andrew Spengler and Daniel Masarik. Jon Bartlett was acquitted of second degree recklessly endangering safety but the jury deadlocked on the charge of substantial battery. It was the only felony jury trial that D. A. McCann ever lost in his 38 years as a prosecutor.

The acquittal drew prompt community outrage. Despite the late hour, a small group of protesters, led by Alderman Michael McGee Jr., marched through the streets surrounding the county courthouse. There were prompt calls for federal charges. On April 18, 2006, a crowd of 3,000 to 5,000 people marched from the Milwaukee County Courthouse to the Federal Courthouse demanding a federal investigation. On May 15, 2006, a motorcade of more than 300 cars delivered a petition to United States Attorney Steven Biskupic demanding a federal investigation. In response to these demonstrations Biskupic promised a full investigation.

On October 19, 2006, the grand jury returned a two count indictment charging Jon Bartlett, Andrew Spengler, Daniel Masarik, Ryan Lemke, and Ryan Packard each with violating the civil rights of Frank Jude and Lovell Harris under color of state law and assaulting Frank Jude while acting as police officers. Three other officers, Joseph Stromei, Jon Clausing, and Joseph Schabel agreed to plead guilty to crimes related to Jude's beating. On July 5, 2007, Ryan Lemke agreed to plead guilty to a lesser crime and on July 9, 2007, the jury trial commenced against the four other officers. Unlike the state trial, the federal trial included one black man on the jury. Additionally, Charles N. Clevert Jr., the only black judge serving on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, presided over the trial. However, the most notable change came in testimony from Joseph Schabel, the first on duty officer to arrive at the scene, who testified in state court that he never kicked Frank Jude but did observe others do so. In federal court, after pleading guilty pursuant to a plea agreement that included a grant of immunity from perjury charges for his state testimony, Joseph Schabel testified that he "stomped" on Frank Jude's head two or three times. After nearly three weeks of testimony and roughly 30 hours of deliberation, shortly after 2 PM on July 26, 2007, the jury of eight women and four men returned its verdicts finding Jon Bartlett, Daniel Masarik, and Andrew Spengler guilty of both counts. The jury acquitted Ryan Packard of both counts; Packard's defense was that he acted as a reasonable police officer when he took Frank Jude to the ground and left the scene in search of Lovell Harris before other officers began to beat Jude. The jury rejected Daniel Masarik's defense, which was that eyewitnesses were confusing him with Ryan Lemke, another off duty officer at the party who pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement shortly before the federal trial began. At the time, both defendants had roughly the same builds, same hair color, and hair styles. Further supporting Daniel Masarik's defense of mistaken identification is the fact that some witnesses did not identify Daniel Masarik as a person involved in the beating of Frank Jude until after the photographs of Daniel Masarik, Andrew Spengler, Jon Bartlett, and Ryan Packard were widely publicized in the media. At that time, Ryan Lemke's photograph was not publicized. Daniel Masarik and Andrew Spengler, both of whom had been free on bond, were promptly taken into custody to await sentencing. Jon Bartlett was already in state custody, having been convicted and sentenced to 4 ½ years in prison for making a bomb threat to his former police station during a night of drinking on December 1, 2005, while he was suspended from the police force during the investigation into this matter. Also while this matter was pending, Jon Bartlett was charged in federal court with falsely stating that he was not currently facing felony charges in an effort to obtain a submachine gun, a handgun, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. On March 30, 2007, Bartlett pleaded guilty to this charge and on August 3, 2007, Chief Judge Rudolph T. Randa sentenced Jon Bartlett to 18 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.

On November 29, 2007, Jon Bartlett, Daniel Masarik, and Andrew Spengler were sentenced by Judge Clevert. Jon Bartlett was sentenced to a total of 208 months in federal prison to be served consecutively to his other sentences. In a letter read by his attorney, Frank Jude called Bartlett a "disgrace" and a "terrorist," and referred to him as "Mr. Punisher," a reference to Bartlett's tattoo of the logo for the vigilante comic book character The Punisher. Bartlett read a prepared statement wherein he apologized to Frank Jude and Lovell Harris and asked for forgiveness. He discussed how incarceration had changed him, allowing him to recognize his prior problems and bringing him closer to his family and God. Daniel Masarik was sentenced to 188 months in prison for his actions, the precise sentence the government argued for. Although he had no criminal record Judge Clevert felt this sentence, which was the top of the range suggested by the sentencing guidelines, was warranted because of what he regarded as Masarik's repeated untruthful testimony that he never approached Jude during the incident, in addition to the factors regarding the impact that this crime had upon the community. In a brief prepared statement, Masarik apologized to Frank Jude and Lovell Harris for what happened to them but did not admit his involvement in the crime. Andrew Spengler received the same sentence as Masarik, 188 months in prison. Spengler, like Masarik, apologized to Frank Jude but did not admit involvement in the assault. Spengler was the most emotional of the three defendants, repeatedly having to stop while speaking in court to blot his eyes and choke back tears. Spengler had previously notably broken down in tears during his attorney's closing argument during the state court trial. Each defendant will also be required to complete three years of supervised release following his release from prison and pay, along with the other police officers convicted in this case, more than sixteen thousand dollars in restitution for Frank Jude's medical bills. Bartlett, Masarik, and Spengler all indicated they would appeal.

On November 3, 2006, Joseph Schabel pleaded guilty to assaulting Frank Jude under color of state law, thereby violating Frank Jude's right to be free from unreasonable seizure, in violation of 18 U. S. C. § 242, and obstructing the federal investigation by lying about his actions, in violation of 18 U. S. C. § 1512(b)(3). In his plea agreement, Joseph Schabel admitted he kicked Frank Jude in the head and that he witnessed off duty officers continue to assault Frank Jude even after Frank Jude was handcuffed. On December 6, 2007, Joseph Schabel was sentenced to 32 months in prison. Jon Clausing was an off duty police officer at Andrew Spengler's housewarming party. According to his plea agreement, Jon Clausing admitted that he and another off duty officer threatened Lovell Harris at knifepoint. After Harris fled, Jon Clausing returned to the group around Frank Jude and witnessed the assault of Frank Jude. On November 3, 2006, Jon Clausing pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the civil rights of Frank Jude and Lovell Harris, in violation of 18 U. S. C. § 241. On December 6, 2007, Jon Clausing was sentenced to 28 months in prison. On December 7, 2006, Joseph Stromei, an off duty police officer who was a guest at Andrew Spengler's housewarming party, pleaded guilty to obstructing the federal investigation by lying about his knowledge regarding the beating of Frank Jude, in violation of 18 U. S. C. § 1512(b)(3). According to his plea agreement, Joseph Stromei previously stated that he never saw anyone assault Frank Jude or brandish a knife during the incident when, in fact, he did see such things. On September 11, 2007, Judge Clevert sentenced Stromei to 24 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. Stromei was allowed to remain free following sentencing in order to finish college classes and to begin serving his prison sentence at the end of the semester. On July 6, 2007, Ryan Lemke pleaded guilty to assaulting Frank Jude under color of state law, in violation of 18 U. S. C. §§ 2 and 242. According to his plea agreement, Ryan Lemke participated in helping hold down Frank Jude's legs and as on duty police officers began to arrive, continued to attempt to restrain Frank Jude by delivering two kicks to Frank Jude's thigh. On November 2, 2007, Ryan Lemke was sentenced to one year in prison, the maximum he could have received. Lemke must also serve one year of supervised release, perform 100 hours of community service, and pay a $3,000 fine. Lemke was allowed to remain free on bail and to report to prison upon the completion of his current semester in college.

The United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit reviewed the sentences of Bartlett, Spengler and Masarik. Argument was held before a three judge panel consisting of Chief Judge Easterbrook and Circuit Judges Bauer and Rovner on May 15, 2009, and the court issued its ruling June 8, 2009. The court affirmed all three convictions and the sentences given to Spengler, Masarik, and Bartlett.

The two women who accompanied Frank Jude to Andrew Spengler's party on October 24, 2004, have filed federal civil rights lawsuits against all of the police officers who were charged in federal court, except for Joseph Stromei, as well as Jon Bartlett's wife, a former Milwaukee police officer, and the City of Milwaukee. This lawsuit is currently pending before judge Lynn Adelman.