A police report obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel provides new details about the investigation into Wisconsin Center District President and CEO Marty Brooks, who was accused by Milwaukee Common Council President José Pérez of inappropriately touching him last November.
The incident was investigated as a sexual assault, but no charges were filed in the case. Brooks has denied wrongdoing.
The Journal Sentinel previously reported on the claims against Brooks, but did not name Pérez. The news organization typically does not identify people who report sexual assault without their consent.
The Journal Sentinel is now naming Pérez because of his position as one of Milwaukee’s top elected officials and a member of the Wisconsin Center District board. His name has been publicly reported elsewhere.
According to the 26-page report, Pérez went to the Milwaukee Police Department on Nov. 5 and said that he had “his buttocks pinched or squeezed” by Brooks two weeks earlier while at the restaurant Mo’s…A Place for Steaks. He said the incident occurred on Oct. 22, the same night Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who is running for governor, had a campaign fundraiser at the popular downtown restaurant.
Pérez said a group at the restaurant “was standing in a close circle making small talk about the Brewers,” when Brooks mentioned another alderman’s efforts to designate the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena as a historic site.
Pérez said he told Brooks that he should bring his concerns to the Milwaukee Common Council, according to the report. Brooks and Pérez have been on opposite sides of that issue.
“Perez stated as the group was talking someone said something funny or cute. He did not remember what was said or who said it. He stated at the time Marty who standing to Perez’ left in close circle reached over and pinched Perez’ left buttock with Marty’s right hand (fingers),” the report said. “Perez stated he could feel the sharpness from Marty’s fingernails as Marty pinched his butt.”
Pérez told detectives he was shocked and angry, but didn’t want to “confront Marty in an aggressive way because he did not want anything to become violent.”
Pérez told police he felt violated.
“He felt it was done in a sexual way and also that it was like a ‘screw you’ / ‘power move,'” the report said.
A recorded call with detectives in the room
On Nov. 5, the same day he went to the police, Pérez called Brooks from a room at the Sensitive Crimes Division with two detectives present, the report said. The call was recorded. Wisconsin is a “one-party consent” state, which means you can record your conversations with other people without their knowledge.
Perez didn’t initially mention specifics of the incident to Brooks, according to a synopsis of the call.
“I feel super uncomfortable about what happened and think we got to talk about this, before, you know, I come back to a board meeting,” Perez told him. “Because I’m uncomfortable about what happened.”
“Tell me what you’re uncomfortable with, what happened?” Brooks asked.
During the call, Pérez repeatedly insisted Brooks knew what he had done, and Brooks said multiple times he had “no clue” what Pérez was talking about, the report said.
Pérez eventually confronted Brooks, saying “you pinched my butt.”
“Oh come on, I did not do that!” Brooks answered, later calling the accusation “bullshit.”
Brooks then apologized for losing his temper, but said he couldn’t “take responsibility for something” he didn’t do, the report said.
The call lasted about six minutes.
Police followed up with witness
The following day, detectives went to interview a woman who was with Pérez and Brooks at Mo’s when the incident reportedly occurred.
The woman said she had been talking with the two men for about 10 minutes “when she observed Marty Brooks reach his hand towards President Perez’ buttocks,” the report said.
“She stated that she did not see Brooks’ hand make contact with Pérez’ buttocks but she did observe his hand moving in that direction and believed that it did touch his buttocks,” the report said.
She added that they were having a “good-natured conversation” and that neither of them “appeared angry before or after the incident,” nor did either appear to be intoxicated, the report said.
The woman told detectives she didn’t think about it again until Pérez returned to Mo’s a couple of hours later with his wife and a couple of friends.
“She stated that Pérez asked her if she observed what Marty Brooks did and she stated that she did,” the report said. “She stated that they did not really talk about it but she realized that it bothered Pérez.”
The woman added that Brooks called her on Nov. 5, and sounded shocked about the allegations.
“She stated that Brooks became extremely emotional and asked her to fix it,” the report said.
Detectives then went to the Baird Center to interview Brooks, who again insisted that the claims were baseless.
“Brooks stated he has no ill will and no issues with Pérez,” the report said. “Brooks stated it was possible that he touched Pérez’ arm while talking with his hands but he adamantly denied ever touching or pinching Perez’ butt at any time.”
Brooks also told detectives he rarely drinks and was not intoxicated at Mo’s – adding that he was drinking club soda that night – and said he has never previously been accused “of doing anything like this,” the report said.
Pérez’ wife and two friends were also interviewed by detectives, and they all said Perez had told them that night that another man had pinched his butt, the report said.
A detective attempted to locate surveillance video footage from the room at Mo’s where the incident reportedly happened but could not find any, the report said.
No charges filed
The incident was investigated as fourth-degree sexual assault, the report said.
Erin Karshen, an assistant district attorney in Milwaukee, contacted police on Nov. 24 to let them know she was not processing the case against Brooks “because she did not believe that she could prove the sexual gratification or sexual humiliation elements of the crime,” the report said.
In a Jan. 22 memo to Wisconsin Center District board members, Chairman Jim Kanter wrote that the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office “found no basis for charges” against Brooks.
The Wisconsin Center District board then met in closed session on Jan. 30 to discuss the investigation. After the meeting, Kanter declined to provide details about the discussion, but again noted that prosecutors declined to press charges.
A spokesperson for the Wisconsin Center District did not answer follow-up questions about whether the board was conducting an internal investigation into the allegations.
Pérez has hired prominent Milwaukee attorney Mark Thomsen “to investigate and track down the sources of, among others, inaccurate statements that the DA’s office ‘found no basis for charges,'” Thomsen said in a statement.
“Mr. Pérez and I will have no public comments until the Wisconsin Center District reaches its own conclusion,” Thomsen said.
The Wisconsin Center District is a public agency that operates the Baird Center convention facility, UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and Miller High Life Theatre.
Brooks was named district president and CEO in 2017. He oversaw Baird Center’s $456 million expansion that was completed in 2024. He previously was senior vice president and general manager of America’s Center, operated by the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission.
Brooks opposed the Common Council’s November vote to designate the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and Miller High Life Theatre as historic. That designation means the theater’s proposed replacement by a 650-room hotel and other new development would need a Historic Preservation Commission review.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Police report details assault claims against Wisconsin Center District head
Reporting by Mary Spicuzza and Tom Daykin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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