Ever wonder why Scott Walker keeps bragging endlessly about a specific law that is has yet to proven effective? Yea, there's something going on he's not telling us;
Urban Milwaukee's Bruce Murphy: It was a bipartisan effort by state representatives Chris Taylor (D-Madison) and Garey Bies (R-Sister Bay) that created the law passed in April 2014 requiring an outside investigation of any police-involved deaths. The law seems particular far-sighted in the case of Sylville Smith, the man killed by a Milwaukee officer, (resulting in the Sherman Park neighborhood violence).
Yup, it’s another Scott Walker
con game, where he brags publicly about a law he knows is just a sham to
protect campaign donors; the Milwaukee Police Association.
Gov. Scott Walker has bragged about signing the Taylor-Bies law and emphasized the need for independent investigations: “I’m proud to say I’m the only governor in America… who signed a law that says there needs to be an independent investigation any time there’s a death of someone in police custody,” he told the national media while running for president.
So who did Walker call? His lapdog AG Brad Schimel. You’d think Walker would have done everything he could to
impress Wisconsin voters with the most impartial and impressive investigation
ever. Nope, he's got an agenda:
The fact the state investigation is using retired Milwaukee police officers in the Smith probe. The AG told the media he doesn’t see a conflict in using MPD officers.
This has the potential to not just look like the system is
gamed if the officer is most likely cleared, it’ll destroy the trust anyone had in our
system of justice:
Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn, while stressing that the body camera video suggested the shooting of Smith “certainly appeared to be within lawful bounds.” Rep. Chris Taylor: “As one of the authors of the officer-involved shooting legislation that requires outside, independent investigators, I can tell you that allowing former Milwaukee police officers to investigate their former department circumvents the true intention of the bill.” Actually, what Taylor was suggesting was exactly what her Republican co-sponsor and former deputy sheriff Bies had suggested about the Dontre Hamilton investigation.
The AG’s reaction was swift. It didn’t just unfairly
criticizing Taylor, but also denounced the Democrats and anyone else in the
state who would dare question Brad Schimel’s authority:
His arrogant spokesperson Johnny Koremenos: (It's) a "continued … assault on law enforcement. It should come as no surprise to anybody familiar with Rep. Taylor’s background — an attorney with no experience in the courtroom, either as a prosecutor or criminal defense attorney, and zero experience in any law enforcement capacity — would come up with this meritless idea. To imply that deeply experienced DCI agents are unable to carry out a thorough and thoughtful investigation on behalf of the Wisconsin Department of Justice in the search for truth is insulting to all those who wear a badge. Furthermore, one can only deduce that by making such a proposal, Rep. Taylor intends to sow doubt in the public’s mind that law enforcement officers in this state lack the integrity and character our citizens have come to expect.”
Schimel isn’t smart enough to do something that would appear to make matters worse in Milwaukee without
Walker’s orders:
When Schimel announces the results of his investigation from his office 75 miles away in Madison, any reaction in Milwaukee will be the concern of Flynn, Mayor Tom Barrett and other officials who must weather the potential storm. I hope I’m wrong, but Schimel’s arrogance, his refusal to recognize the importance of conducting an investigation that looks impartial, could end up being destructive to this city.
