Attack gives Milwaukee a bloody, broken nose
Statement of Alderman Bob Donovan December 5, 2013
The reported knockout attack of a Milwaukee man near Sherman Blvd. and Burleigh St. Monday is extremely troubling to me, and it unfortunately shows that this form of cowardly violence is now happening in our city.
But I am also very disappointed by the response of the Barrett Administration to this attack. The mayor should be calling for swift and decisive action to catch the perpetrator/s and to make it clear that this despicable, unprovoked and spontaneous violence simply will not be tolerated in Milwaukee.
The impact of this attack goes far beyond the innocent victim who was sent to the hospital with a broken nose; this attack also gives our city – and its image – a broken, bloodied nose.
There are so many people and organizations who have worked hard for years to improve public safety in our neighborhoods, but this type of attack can bring great fear to the vast majority of law-abiding residents, and it can set us back years in terms of the perception of safety on our streets.
I believe that our streets should be flooded with police officers to protect our citizens and businesses, but we are told there just isn’t enough money available for police staffing. This while brazen street robberies are on the rise in my district on the near south side and very likely in other areas of our city.
But are we being pennywise and dollar foolish?
Some remember the $500,000 the mayor authorized for police overtime this past summer to help address our outbreak of deadly gun violence, but the fact remains that was money that simply was not used (for overtime) in the early part of this year.
I do applaud Chief Flynn for his careful management and deployment practices, which have saved millions in police overtime during his tenure.
But that savings should not come at the expense of our citizens and their safety!
The chief should answer only to the citizens of Milwaukee, and not to the mayor or the Common Council.
For too many years Milwaukee’s leaders have tried to politely ignore these types of incidents, somehow hoping they will just go away. To me that’s simply a bullshit way of facing a serious problem that threatens our city and its image to the world!
The mayor and the chief need to publicly acknowledge that this knockout attack violence is now happening in Milwaukee (I know that it’s happening!), that it will not be tolerated and that anyone who partakes in this activity will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
Mentioned in This Press Release
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