Power Up the PCO Board

About Us

Freedom Action Now (FAN) advances the feminist abolitionist agenda, mobilizing allies to support grassroots organizations led by working class Black, Southeast Asian, and other women and queer people of color in Wisconsin.

Campaign: Power Up the PCO Board — Proposed Content

The City Created Oversight as a Compromise. Now They Want to Weaken Even That. Power It Up.

After the 2020 uprisings, Madison created the Police Civilian Oversight Board and the Office of the Independent Police Monitor as a compromise — the city would not give us community control, so it gave us oversight. Now, five years later, they are trying to strip the PCO Board of its independence, its funding, and its authority to investigate. They want to weaken oversight while police are still killing us.

What the PCO Board Is

The Police Civilian Oversight Board was created in 2020 in response to community protests and Freedom Inc.'s demand for Community Control Over Police. The board can monitor MPD, investigate complaints, subpoena records, and make recommendations. What it cannot do: hire or fire officers. File criminal charges. Set police policy. Control the budget. It is oversight, not control.

The Office of the Independent Police Monitor was created alongside it — an independent office that investigates police misconduct and deaths in custody. Last month, the OIPM ruled that Richard Lee Johnson's death in MPD custody was a homicide. Officer Alex Gonzalez shoved Johnson's head into the ground and pressed his knee until Johnson died from prone restraint cardiac arrest. Police initially claimed it was a drug overdose. They lied. The OIPM proved it.

This is what oversight can do when it has independence. The city is trying to take that independence away.

What the City Is Trying to Do

Proposed amendments to the PCO Board would:

Restrict the OIM's access to independent legal counsel

Impose new reporting burdens designed to slow investigations

Strip funding that keeps the office operational

In some proposals, eliminate the board entirely

The argument from the city is about efficiency and cost. The reality is about power. An independent oversight board with real investigative authority is a threat to a police department that wants to operate without accountability. The city is choosing the police over the community.

What We Demand

Strengthen the PCO Board.

Stable funding set at 5% of the MPD budget — not subject to annual political whim

Independent investigative authority — the power to subpoena, to compel testimony, to access evidence without MPD filtering it first

Binding disciplinary power — the authority to fire officers who commit misconduct, not just recommend it

Community representation — board members appointed by community organizations, not just the Mayor and Council

Independent legal counsel — the board must have its own attorney, not one shared with the city

The August 4 Vote

The Common Council votes on the future of the PCO Board on August 4. We are showing up not because we believe oversight alone will save us — it didn't save Corey Ruiz, it didn't save Richard Lee Johnson — but because we refuse to let them weaken even the compromise while they're still killing us.

[Sign the petition →] [Contact your alder →] [Show up August 4 →]

Who Is Leading

This campaign is led by Freedom Inc. FAN follows their leadership — mobilizing allies to pack hearings, amplify demands, and provide the material support that makes sustained organizing possible.