“I am deeply honored to be recognized by the men and women in blue,” NE WI lawmaker says
DE PERE, WI… State Sen. André Jacque (R-De Pere) was named 2022 Legislator of the Year this week by the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, the third time he has earned the organization’s award for his legislative service.
“I am deeply honored to be recognized by the men and women in blue for working to give them the resources, training and criminal justice laws they need to protect our families,” Sen. Jacque said. “Those who put their lives on the line to keep our communities safe in Northeast Wisconsin are true heroes, and they deserve all the support we can give them in these increasingly dangerous times.”
Sen. Jacque, a member of the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, said that while crime is on the rise, the number of police on our streets is at the lowest level in at least a decade.
“This is no time to defund the police,” Sen. Jacque said. “That’s why I fought this session to reverse this trend and provide law enforcement with the funding they need to put more officers on the streets.”
Sen. Jacque’s Public Safety Package last spring pushed Gov. Evers to finally authorize some federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for law enforcement, as so many other states had done, after the Governor had vetoed legislative efforts to do so.
“The non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau had earlier confirmed that no ARPA funding had been directly allocated to law enforcement before March 15, 2022,” Sen. Jacque said.
Sen. Jacque also co-authored the bipartisan “Public Safety PTSD Coverage Act,” which now provides mental health coverage under workman’s compensation for officers and other first responders whose jobs require them to rush toward, rather than away from danger.
“Increasing suicide rates for first responders suffering from PTSD are now outpacing on-duty deaths,” Sen. Jacque said. “This condition can be treated effectively, and it is critical that the men and women we depend on have access to treatment.”
Sen. Jacque has previously been recognized as the Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association Legislator of the Year for the 2017-’18 session and has received the top legislative awards from several public safety groups, including the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Wisconsin State Crime Stoppers, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), and the Brown County Crime Prevention Foundation. He has authored laws that protect crime victims, closed the child enticement and hit-and-run loopholes, invest in crime prevention, restored the ability of law enforcement to require suspected drunk drivers to submit to blood draws, improved response to domestic violence and human trafficking, and wrote law enforcement process reforms that have saved law enforcement agencies and local property taxpayers millions of dollars.
See the Wisconsin Professional Police Association announcement here.
