It may not be summer yet, but the Milwaukee chapter of the NAACP is looking to apply some heat to Milwaukee officials beginning Tuesday.

Upset by two recent court decisions that found Milwaukee Police Officer Jon Bartlett not guilty in incidents involving minority men, the NAACP plans to begin holding hearings to plan its reaction.

The first meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at the NAACP chapter headquarters at 2745 N. Martin Luther King Dr., chapter President Jerry Ann Hamilton told WisPolitics.

"We are going to have these meetings every Tuesday, inviting the public in to talk over some of the choices we have for action as a community," she said.

Reaction in Milwaukee's near North Side and near South Side minority communities has been loud and angry.

Bartlett and two other white police officers were recently found not guilty by an all-white jury in the October 2004 beating of Frank Jude, Jr. during a party attended by off-duty police in Bay View. Jude is bi-racial.

That same jury was deadlocked on a separate charge against Bartlett of being party to substantial battery. Prosecutors say they plan a retrial on that count.

But the second shoe fell when a federal court jury determined Monday that Bartlett did not use excessive force when he shot and killed Larry Jenkins on Sept. 19, 2002, after a traffic stop. It also ruled Bartlett did not violate the civil rights of Jenkins. Bartlett said he fired his weapon and killed Jenkins because the man was trying to run him over.

That jury had two African-American women among its eight members.

Many members of Milwaukee's minority community had gathered at the courtroom and complained openly when the verdict was read. Among them were Ald. Michael McGee, Jr., and former Mayor Marvin Pratt. Bartlett received the unusual service of being escorted from the courtroom by security and taken away in an official Milwaukee vehicle.

Hamilton said the verdicts have enraged many Milwaukeeans. "It's hard to accept when you look at these (incidents) as we see them," she said.

After the Jude verdict was handed down, NAACP officials met with Milwaukee Police Chief Nan Hegerty. She said the department would create a more efficient way of investigating alleged police brutality cases and increase training on how to respond when police are accused of breaking the law.

Hegerty had fired Bartlett and eight other off-duty officers in connection with the Jude beating, while suspending three others and demoting another. While there has been discussion of Bartlett seeking reinstatement, Hegerty has said she will not rehire him.