Court upholds Milwaukee police officer’s firing for posting racist memes after Sterling Brown arrest
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a former Milwaukee police officer was properly fired for posting racist memes about the arrest of an NBA player, sparking public outrage.
Officer Erik Andrade was involved in the 2018 arrest of Sterling Brown, who was then playing for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Brown alleged that police used excessive force and attacked him because he is black when they confronted him for illegally parking in a handicapped-accessible spot. He was talking to officers while waiting for his citation when the situation escalated. Officers took him down and used a stun gun because he did not immediately obey orders to remove his hands from his pockets.
Andrade was not involved in Brown’s arrest, but did transport him after his arrest.
Brown filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city, the police department and several officers involved in his arrest, including Andrade.
In the lawsuit, Brown referenced a series of racist memes Andrade posted on Facebook. In a post hours after the arrest, Andrade wrote: “Nice to meet Sterling Brown of the Milwaukee Bucks at work this morning! Lol#FearTheDeer.”
The lawsuit claims Andrade also shared a disparaging meme of NBA star Kevin Durant about three months later.
Andrade was fired in 2018 after being suspended for violating the department’s code of conduct regarding his social media posts, not for his conduct during Brown’s arrest.
Then-Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales said during Andrade’s disciplinary hearing that he was fired because the Facebook posts would be used to damage his credibility in future criminal cases and would therefore be unable to testify.
Andrade deleted his Facebook account the day the lawsuit was filed. He sued the Milwaukee Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, which reviewed and upheld the chief’s decision to fire him. Andrade argued that his due process rights had been violated.
A Milwaukee County court and a state appeals court both upheld his firing, leading to Andrade’s appeal to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
In a 5-2 decision on Tuesday, the Supreme Court said the police chief properly explained the evidence supporting Andrade’s firing and gave him a chance to respond.
“We conclude that the Due Process Clause does not require a more demanding and rigid pre-termination process than what Andrade received,” said Judge Brian Hagedorn, writing for the majority.
The court also found that the police chief followed the law when he listed the policies Andrade violated and referenced the Facebook posts that formed the basis for the violations when he filed a complaint with the Milwaukee Board of Fire and Police Commissioners.
Hagedorn was joined in the majority by Justices Ann Walsh Bradley, Rebecca Dallet, Jill Karofsky and Janet Protasiewicz. Chief Justice Annette Ziegler and Justice Rebecca Bradley dissented.
The dissenting judges said they did not condone Andrade’s conduct, but that they believed his due process rights had been violated.
Attorneys for Andrade and the Milwaukee Board of Fire and Police Commissioners had no immediate comment.
Under a 2021 settlement, the city paid Brown $750,000 and apologized. The Milwaukee Police Department also said it “recognizes that the incident escalated in an unnecessary manner and despite Mr. Brown’s calm demeanor.”
Brown’s first three years in the NBA were with the Bucks, from 2017 to 2020. He also played for the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers before joining Alba Berlin of the German Basketball Bundesliga and the EuroLeague in 2023.