State Rep. David Bowen
Press Release

Rep. Bowen: Statement on recent turmoil in Milwaukee

“Elected officials, law enforcement, and community leaders need to come together and listen to the people in our community who continue struggling to get by.”

By - Aug 16th, 2016 05:10 pm

MILWAUKEE – Rep. David Bowen (D-Milwaukee), who grew up in the Sherman Park neighborhood of Milwaukee and has been present in the area every night since Saturday, released the following statement concerning the recent turmoil in the neighborhood:

“The loss of another young life in our city has understandably reinvigorated the frustrations of many people – of all ages – in our community. As the epidemic of police shootings has continued to disproportionately take the lives of Black men and women, members of affected communities have grown frustrated that they are not being heard on this and many other issues that disadvantage Black people in every aspect of life, causing extreme hopelessness and trauma.

“After the first night of turmoil, it was very encouraging to see so many community members, including law enforcement, come together to help calm the situation and support the community which was hurting after the loss of a life. It was unnecessary for Sheriff Clarke to request the Governor to call in the National Guard, as the numbers of incidents had significantly declined by that point. The Sheriff’s decision to close Sherman Park was also backward thinking – taking resources away does not help the situation. Law enforcement should be an active partner in serving our community, and the biggest advocate for Black lives. We need accountability for police officers, including clear procedures that ensure everyone is treated with dignity and respect, and that prioritize de-escalation techniques before resorting to the use of lethal force.

“Elected officials, law enforcement, and community leaders need to come together and listen to the people in our community who continue struggling to get by. They need to follow through with productive efforts to create family supporting, living wage jobs, access to health care, and high quality, adequately funded public schools.

“I encourage Governor Walker to join myself and a group of elected officials and faith leaders this Friday at 6 p.m. at Parklawn Assembly of God Church in the Sherman Park Neighborhood for a listening session that is open to the public, not invite-only, so he can better understand the challenges, the needs, and the ideas so prevalent among our residents.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

Mentioned in This Press Release

Neighborhoods:

Recent Press Releases by State Rep. David Bowen

Rep. Bowen Announces Bid for 1st District Common Council

Bowen offers experienced leadership to work towards necessary solutions for Milwaukee

Rep. Bowen Statement on New Type 1 Youth Facility Site Selection in Milwaukee

With Site Selection, Evers Administration and DOC Take First Major Step to Finally Close Lincoln Hills

Rep. Bowen Statement on SCOTUS Decision Overturning Roe v. Wade

Decision in Dobbs Goes Against the Will of the People and Will Hurt Marginalized Communities Most

Comments

  1. Vincent Hanna says:

    Everyone who attended the Support the Blue rally should attend the listening session to prove they are serious about making things better in Milwaukee.

  2. M says:

    Yes, it was good the mayor and Chief Flynn kept Sheriff Clarke from using escalating tactics he was advocating. Clarke closing a county park at 6 PM was just him flexing his power to make up for being sidelined.

    We should also expect that corporations that have received tens of millions in subsidies (such as NML) and even hundreds of millions (the Milwaukee Bucks) should be returning more than token “donations” to help address Milwaukee’s dire needs.

    The Milwaukee Bucks Foundation will donate $75,000 to the community this year. That’s a pathetic “payback.” NML and some others have done better with their philanthropy over the years. However, the corporate community needs to step it up to help the city to start long-standing problems.

  3. Sean says:

    It’s interesting to see the different paths that people have taken out of this neighborhood. Mr. Bowen is very successful and at a young age in politics. According to many others the officer involved in the Sherman Park area shooting, went to high school with and knows the suspect. What happened at the cross roads that made these individuals take different paths. Did some have better opportunities than others or did they make a decision to choose that life style. It shows you that there is a lot of talented individuals in these communities, sadly the media portrays the negative side of these neighborhoods.

Leave a Reply

You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, starts at $9/month. Learn more.

Join now and cancel anytime.

If you are an existing member, sign-in to leave a comment.

Have questions? Need to report an error? Contact Us