(The Center Square) – Milwaukee’s downtown alderman continues to defend new rules that will close downtown food trucks earlier, despite violence across the rest of the city.
Alderman Bob Bauman said a new ordinance that will force food trucks along Water Street to close at 10 p.m. is necessary to control crime in the city.
“We are told by professional law enforcement personnel, at the command staff level, that food trucks are a significant cause of the disorder that is taking place on Water Street, especially among underage individuals who can’t even patronize the bars,” Bauman told CBS 58 on Thursday. “But they are there. They congregate around the food trucks. They loiter around the food trucks. Confrontations occur. People get shot, people get hurt, people get killed in some cases.”
Food truck owners in Milwaukee say they are being scapegoated and point out that Milwaukee has a crime problem across the city.
The latest high profile shooting in Milwaukee came Wednesday when police say an 11-year-old shot at a city inspector during a carjacking attempt.
The inspector wasn’t wounded, though police say a bullet did graze his jacket.
That 11-year-old was one of three young teenagers arrested after a short police chase on the other side of town. Officers say a 14-year-old was driving a stolen car, and a 16-year-old was also taken into custody.
The carjacking attempt and shooting came after Milwaukee Police say two 14-year-olds were arrested for the murder of a 15-year-old in the city’s Walker’s Point neighborhood last week.
Bauman didn’t comment on Milwaukee’s other recent crimes. He said his focus is on downtown.
“If downtown gets the reputation of being unsafe and dangerous, that will have enormous economic consequences,” Bauman added.
The city’s new food truck rules begin May 9.
