GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — Federal prosecutors are getting involved in the rash of shootings that have plagued Green Bay over the past year.
Police Chief Andrew Smith says the city has seen more than double the number of shootings this year than in all of last year. Those shootings, Smith says, can be traced back to a group of a few dozen people who are believed to be responsible for 60% to 70% of the shootings that have taken place since March.
“I would love to arrest every one of these individuals, but we have to build a case so that we can successfully prosecute them,” said Smith. “We get zero cooperation from members of these groups.”
The lack of cooperation means that even solid, compelling evidence often isn’t enough for police to make an arrest.
“We spotted a vehicle that was involved in one of these shootings, we’ve got a video of the vehicle leaving the scene, but we can’t identify the driver,” Smith recalled. “We found the vehicle owner, and this woman tells us ‘I loan my vehicle to everybody’ and when we asked her who she lent it to on that date, she says ‘I don’t remember.”
“Our detectives will go out and try to interview people and they’ll be met at the edge of the yard by someone with the middle finger up saying ‘F you’ to our officers,” he added.
To tackle the issue and bring the violence to a halt, police are taking drastic measures. Five officers and two detectives are being put on a task force, launching Saturday, that will be entirely focused on the surge in shootings.
They’re also bringing in federal help.
U.S. Attorney Matthew Krueger’s office is expected to focus on gun crime in Green Bay that reaches the level of a federal offense, such as carrying a weapon while trafficking narcotics or as a habitual drug user.
The help of federal prosecutors, though, isn’t part of any nationwide crime prevention effort, such as “Operation Legend” which targeted criminal violence in Milwaukee earlier this year.
“We don’t have the types of problems they have in places like Milwaukee, Chicago, and Los Angeles in terms of firearms violence,” Smith told WTAQ. “But any shooting in Green Bay is a concern.”
Smith said they may even request the help of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms throughout the course of the investigation.
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