This week, Mayor Cavalier Johnson appointed Adam Procell as the new Director of Milwaukee’s Office of Wellness and Community Safety. A few days before the announcement, WTMJ’s Libby Collins talked with Adam about decisions he made as a teenager eventually leading him to become an advocate for violence prevention. He discussed his time in a prominent Milwaukee gang, his life in prison, and what made him turn it all around, as well as the work he does today to bridge the gap between the police and Milwaukee’s troubled youth. It’s all ahead on this gripping edition of WTMJ Conversations!
A partial transcript is provided below, courtesy of eCourt Reporters.
ADAM PROCELL: A lot of things happened simultaneously. Some rival gang members came, I did not recognize them at the time, the gang leader who did, told myself and my would-be future adult co-defendant to get out our guns. And we both did.
LIBBY COLLINS: What happened then?
ADAM PROCELL: There was a conversation held. I could hear my co-defendant asking them if they belonged to a specific gang. I did not hear the response that they gave; I assumed it was in the affirmative because in the response was shooting, to which I then grabbed my gun. I ran across the street, and I also started shooting.
LIBBY COLLINS: How many shots were fired?
ADAM PROCELL: Twenty in all, I believe.
LIBBY COLLINS: And you fired how many?
ADAM PROCELL: As many as the gun held, I can’t remember, no more than six.
LIBBY COLLINS: But one of those bullets hit one of the other gang members.
ADAM PROCELL: Two, unfortunately.
LIBBY COLLINS: You shot two men?
ADAM PROCELL: Correct. And one, unfortunately, did not survive.
LIBBY COLLINS: You beat up a guard?
ADAM PROCELL: Correct. I made a statement out of my mouth after a cell search. I said, if the contraband report comes back from the contraband that was in my cell was a major ticket, I’m going to beat up the police, as we call them.
LIBBY COLLINS: What contraband did you have?
ADAM PROCELL: There was so much, everything from shanks to drug paraphernalia to — you name it, we probably had it in our cell.
As soon as I made the statement, I tried to put those words back in my mouth, but they were out there. The contraband report came back, it was a major ticket, which means they could send you to solitary confinement.
I made the statement of when I see the officer again, I’m going to put my hands on him. And that’s what I did, unfortunately, and then I was charged with another crime for beating him up. There was definitely blood, there was a number of punches thrown by me, and I received some more time for that instance.
LIBBY COLLINS: So, when you went back into general population, how did your life in prison change from what it was like while you were still a gang member?
ADAM PROCELL: It was uncomfortable at first. I did cover up my tattoos. And there were a lot of people that were not happy because I had risen up the ranks of the gang. And so, without getting into too much detail, “unpleasant” is just the word I’ll use.
On the other side, a lot of the guards, they were very skeptical, because I was — I was a hellion. I mean, I was wild and out of control before I left to Supermax. And so, when I came back, I think they thought I was putting on an act, but I would eventually end up going to every single guard that I ever disrespected, wronged, put my hands on, and apologized.
