The Milwaukee Post

$250,000. Zyszkiewicz, 64, a building inspector for the Department of Neighborhood Services, had been on the job when he was found in his running car near North 23rd and West Cherry streets about 2 p.m. with a massive head wound later determined to be caused by a shotgun blast, according to information contained in the criminal complaint. Milwaukee Fire Department personnel, who were first to arrive on the scene, did not attempt lifesaving measures due to the "cata- strophic nature" of the injuries sustained by Zyszkiewicz. Milwaukee police arrested the three defendants, and two others who had not yet been charged as of press time, after two sep- arate vehicle pursuits that ended in crashes and foot chases in Milwaukee a few hours after the shooting of Zyszkiewicz. "When these sorts of outrageous and ter- rible crimes occur, they make you pause a moment and contemplate the question, 'Is this who we are as a community?'" Common Council President Ashante Hamilton said. "The answer is a resounding no. No, this is not who we are. No, we will not allow violent criminals to force us to live in fear. No, we will not tolerate predation on innocent citi- zens." Hamilton called on the community to "stand up to this kind of criminal, violent behavior that puts us all at risk." Alderman Terry Witkowski said Zyszkiewicz's killing "is an attack on the general welfare of the city." "Greg's sort of attitude and work ethic represent the best that our city of Milwaukee family has to offer to our citi- zens," Witkowski said. "As civil servants, thousands of city employees like Greg strive to serve the best interests and well-being of every citizen of Milwaukee." According to the criminal complaint: Scott, Shaw and Smiley were driving a 2010 Toyota Venza that had been reported stolen on March 1. At about 11 a.m. March 22, they stopped at a gas station at North 35th and West Townsend streets. Smiley got out of the car and pointed a sawed-off shotgun at a woman who had been pumping gas into her 2015 Kia Soul. Smiley drove off in the Kia with the Toyota following. Smiley drove to his girlfriend's house in the 3000 block of North 28th Street and argued with her after she refused to allow him to take their 6-month-old son. He struck the woman in the face several times and bit her arm while holding the shotgun in his other hand. Later, Smiley, Shaw and Scott were riding in the stolen Kia when they spotted Zyszkiewicz's silver Ford Mustang. Scott approached the Mustang while carrying the shotgun. The others heard a shot before see- ing Scott running back toward the Kia. Shaw later told police that Scott claimed he panicked and fired at Zyszkiewicz because he attempted to grab him. In addition to first-degree reckless homi- cide, Scott also is charged with fleeing an officer. Shaw is charged with felony murder, flee- ing an officer, being a felon in possession of a gun, two counts of bail jumping and domes- tic violence battery. Smiley is charged with felony murder, fleeing an officer, being a felon with a gun, two counts of bail jumping and one of domestic violence battery, a misdemeanor. All three are also charged with armed robbery, as parties to the crime, for the Kia carjacking. Sandy Sue Szanderek, who lives in the same Bay View neighborhood where Zyszkiewicz's home is located, said she spoke with him that morning as he was delivering newspapers for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a side job he had done for many years. A few hours later, Zyszkiewicz was dead. "It was such a shock," she said. "You go into denial." Szanderek said she watched from her window one morning as Zyszkiewicz, while delivering her newspaper, propped up a few of her hibiscus plants that had toppled over in the wind during the night. "It was those little things. I think that's why he was so really well-liked," Szanderek said. "I just thought he was very nice." Alderman Michael Murphy deemed Zyszkiewicz's death a "senseless act of vio- lence." "Mr. Zyszkiewicz was a man who devoted his life to serving others and his passing is a loss for the city as a whole," Murphy said. Alderman Jose Perez said he got to know Zyszkiewicz through his work with the Department of Neighborhood Services' spe- cial enforcement division. "He accompanied me on a number of neighborhood walks throughout my district, offering his expertise and helping with enforcement issues," Perez said. "You really get to know a guy personally when you walk and talk for hours, and I know that above all else, Ziggy was a good man who loved his family, and he was a dedicated civil servant who loved his job." Zielinski's resolution will be introduced at the next meeting of the Common Council's Judiciary and Legislation Committee on April 10. Zielinski also said he will be introducing legislation that directs the city's Department of Administration to create a plan that would provide city workers whose duties take them into dangerous neighborhoods with devices that can summon emergency assistance at the touch of a button. City employees "work hard every day to make this city a better place to live," Alderman Jim Bohl said "Mr. Zyszkiewicz dedicated his career to that goal and his loss is an unjust and horrif- ic tragedy," he said. A fund has been established at U.S. Bank in Zyszkiewicz's honor. Donations can be made at any area U.S. Bank location. The Packing House restaurant on Milwaukee's south side announced that it will donate $1 to the fund for each fish fry sold on March 31. March 31, 2017 • Milwaukee County Post • 17 Weekends: April 22 thru May 7, 2017 This year's tour will feature: New Homes • Condos • Lots • Developments The MBA Spring Tour guide has all the details. Look for it inside the April 7th edition. Check out the MBA Spring Tour for fresh ideas to make your dream home a reality. Get Inspired The two candidates attempted to differ- entiate themselves on a range of educa- tion-related issues, including school choice. Evers has not favored an expansion of the voucher system. He said his top con- cern was ensuring public school districts are not drained of their resources at the expense of funneling them to charter schools. "They also have to have the same accountability system," Evers said. Holtz said he believes the voucher sys- tem has made a positive impact, particular- ly in some of the state's large urban dis- tricts. He pointed to some schools in the MPS system with 0 percent proficiency scores in reading and math in state stan- dardized tests. "I don't have a problem with competi- tion," Holtz said. "Competition can be good." Because of the location of the debate, the topic of MPS was fitting. Both candidates agreed the state's largest school district has made positive strides, but their attempts at seeking solutions differed. Throughout his two terms in office, Evers said he has worked with MPS offi- cials, including Superintendent Darienne Driver, and has forged collaborative rela- tionships that are bearing fruit. He said such issues as poverty are a continued underlying challenge. "We've raised the bar significantly," Evers said. "We have made some progress, but not as much as I'd like. Until we resolve some of the issues (such as poverty), stu- dents aren't going to learn." Holtz attempted to undermine Evers' comments, pointing to some schools within the system that continue failing. He said minority students are especially under- served and said expectations for this popu- lation need to be raised. "We are failing our minority population — big time," Holtz said. "There's no expec- tations for them. The bar has been set real- ly, really low." On the topic of federal mandates, Evers blasted President Donald Trump for his spending priorities. Evers characterized Trump's education cuts as "wiping us out." "We have to call out the president and his administration on this," Evers said. "We're building a wall ... on the backs of our kids." Holtz said teachers today are preoccu- pied with too much busy work, such as data entry for Common Core and educator effec- tiveness. "We're losing some of the best teachers we have," Holtz said. "They're not able to do what they've been called into the profession to do." Superintendent: Evers, Holtz draw distinctions on school choice, MPS, federal mandates continued from Page 2 Inspector: 'Best that our city of Milwaukee family has to offer' continued from Page 1 Holtz Evers

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