75th District Assembly candidate John Ellenson released the following statement:
“The killing of George Floyd and the shooting of Jacob Blake have sickened all of us. As
did the senseless violence and destruction of property that erupted in their aftermath,
heaping tragedy on top of tragedy.”
“We all depend on our police and first responders to protect life and property and we all
have a right to express our feelings and demand change through peaceful protest. But
riots are not peaceful protest. Riots are riots. And those who harm others or damage
property must be held accountable for their actions.”
“Obviously, we can’t keep doing the same things and expecting different results. I
support a number of proposals to make us all safer, and each and every one of them –
body cameras, additional protective equipment, deescalation training, and more crisis
intervention workers – requires more funding for our police and first responders, not
less.”
“And I think we can all agree that our police should not continue to bear the brunt of all
of society’s problems. That’s not sustainable financially, and more importantly, it’s not
fair to those who put their lives on the line for us every day. Surely, some of the
responsibilities around mental health, substance abuse, homelessness, poverty, and
child services could be performed by specialized professionals outside of law
enforcement, easing the burden on our police and resulting in better outcomes for our
communities.”
“Support for our police, fire, and EMS has to be more than a slogan. This is especially
important in rural Wisconsin where many of our first responders are volunteers. Elected
representatives at the state and federal level must respect the sacrifice of everyone
working to protect us, no matter where they live, and step up and reward them with the
pay, equipment, and resources they deserve.”
