Frankie Lee Jude Jr., (born August 14, 1978) is a Wisconsin man who was severely beaten and tortured by off-duty Milwaukee police officers in the early-morning hours of October 24, 2004.
[2] 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.
Upon arriving at Andrew Spengler's home, Jude and Harris told Antonissen that they felt uncomfortable and therefore wanted to leave.
While talking to the 9-1-1 dispatcher, Antonissen reported that a uniformed officer had responded to the scene and that he too began beating Frank Jude.
[1] Frank Jude was initially arrested on suspicion of theft and quickly loaded into a police van and transported to the hospital for treatment of his numerous injuries.
The district attorney's office faced mounting criticism at the pace of the investigation, led in large part by Alderman Michael McGee Jr., who, at a rally calling for criminal charges, referred to the suspected officers as "hate mongers and KKK killers," and said, "Any man that would pull another man's pants down is a straight-up sick faggot.
"[3] 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.
Masarik also faced an additional charge of perjury for testifying during the John Doe hearing that he never had any contact with Frank Jude.
The court rejected the prosecutors' challenge and permitted the case to proceed with an all-white jury, laying the groundwork for much community outrage.
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.
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.
Despite the late hour, a small group of protesters, led by Alderman Michael McGee Jr., marched through the streets surrounding the county courthouse.
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.
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 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.