Good morning. I want to thank the Milwaukee Police Association and the Wisconsin Fraternal Order of Police for their endorsement and their service to the state of Wisconsin.
We’re here today to discuss the record violent crime in Milwaukee and throughout the state, and to unveil the first steps to address it; the “Safer Streets, Safer Homes” plan.
When Attorney General Josh Kaul announced his reelection bid last year saying he’s “proud of his record on public safety”.
Is Josh Kaul proud of the record murder rate in Milwaukee, which set an all-time record for homicides in 2020, broke that record in 2021, and we are on pace to set a new record in 2022.
Or perhaps Josh Kaul is proud of the nearly 9 percent rise in violent crime across the state between 2019 and 2020. Ask any outlying distract attorney or sheriff if they see the overflow of crime and violence from Milwaukee into their counties. In fact, smaller communities across the state are experiencing a surge in violent crime as well … In fact, the number of shootings in the City of Green Bay has more than tripled in 2021 compared to previous years.
So, how has Kaul reacted to the historic murder and violent crime surge?
He cut criminal prosecution positions at the DOJ and left others unfulfilled.
Josh Kaul has chosen to play politics with public safety. He’s chosen the hard left, woke activists over the hard working families who simply want to work, play and live in a safe environment.
Woke is cool until a flash mob breaks into your neighborhood store and steals all they can carry?
Woke is cool until your friends and neighbors get slaughtered at a Christmas parade by a violent felon who got out of jail with low bail. Six dead. 60 injured.
Woke is cool until cops get shot at and assassinated on our streets day after day because the the attorney general, district attorney and governor puts criminals ahead of victims. Are you woke now, Josh Kaul?
In a recent two-week span, Milwaukee witnessed three cops shot and a mass murder of six people in one house. How many more Wisconsinites will die, or cops will be shot before Josh Kaul and Tony Evers act?
As a District Attorney who’s been on then frontlines of prosecuting violent crime, I’ve had enough of the inaction of Kaul. And as the son of a cop, I’m personally embarrassed that Wisconsin’s ‘top cop’ has turned his back on law enforcement.
I’ve spent 10 years prosecuting homicide and violent crime, and I’m the only candidate for attorney general to have done so in Wisconsin. I know firsthand what it takes to keep our streets safe. Criminals are literally getting away with murder in Milwaukee because there are not enough police officers to investigate these homicides and they are lacking the necessary support from our Attorney General.
It takes a focus on traditional law enforcement — not political posturing and defunding the police rhetoric— including more police officers, more prosecutors, and more resources to end this homicide epidemic, not less. The following are initial steps we must take to stop the violence in Milwaukee and prevent it from continuing to bleed into the rest of Wisconsin.
First, we need more – not less – cops on the streets. Governor Evers must immediately release COVID funds to local law enforcement and Milwaukee to add more cops and judicial resources to fight this violence and speed up our backlogged court system. He must also provide police agencies the funds to pay the salary of new recruits while they attend the police academy and the cost of training to address the recruitment difficulties law enforcement sees across Wisconsin.
Second, Kaul must fill the vacant prosecutor and DCI positions that he has left unfilled for over a year and fix the mess he created at the state crime labs. We must also add at least 10 additional criminal prosecutors and additional DCI agents to DOJ that work with local law enforcement to investigate and prosecute violent crime throughout Wisconsin. Kaul has reduced the effectiveness of the Wisconsin Crime Labs despite testing nearly 30% less items in comparison to former Attorney General Brad Schimel.
Third, the DOJ must obtain original criminal jurisdiction within Milwaukee County. With the expanded resources this would allow the DOJ to better work with local law enforcement and prosecutors in Milwaukee County to take on hundreds of cases that Milwaukee is either unable or unwilling to prosecute.
Fourth, implement mandatory minimums for violent crime. And Five, revise cash bail to allow violent criminals to be held with no bail.
Sadly, Kaul has had two years to stop this homicide epidemic, but he’s failed us because the real solutions do not fit his woke, liberal political agenda.
Milwaukee often sets the tone for the rest of Wisconsin and we cannot allow that tone to be one of violence, homicide, and drugs. It is appalling that families are leaving playgrounds unused for fear of stray bullets striking their children. No family should have to live this way.
Public safety is on the ballot and it’s time to send a prosecutor, not a politician to be our ‘Top Cop.’
