February 9, 2023
Governor Tony Evers
(Electronically Delivered)
Dear Governor Evers,
On Tuesday, February 7, 2023, Wisconsinites awoke to the heartbreaking news that Officer Peter Jerving, was killed in the line of duty. Officer Jerving was only 37-years-old and had sacrificially served the City of Milwaukee Police Department for 4 years before his life was cut tragically short. As we now know, he was murdered by a criminal who had been in court less than 24 hours prior to this incident, facing other violent charges. Once again, this young man was out on the streets, committing crimes after his jail sentence was stayed by a soft-on-crime judge.
Governor, it took you until 11 AM to even acknowledge this tragic loss of this officer and then it was merely a brief tweet on social media before you moved on to other topics. To date and time, you still have not issued a full statement on this terror happening on Milwaukee’s streets. Neither have you ordered the flags be flown at half-staff in honor of this fallen hero.
At a time when law enforcement morale is at an all-time low, departments across the state are hurting for good officers, and citizens are deeply worried about public safety this is an insufficient response from Wisconsin’s Governor. We the undersigned members of the Wisconsin Legislature implore you to show dignity and compassion by ordering all flags to be lowered across the state until the day after this selfless public servant, Officer Jerving, is laid to rest. The day after Officer Matthew Rittner was killed in the line of duty, on February 7, 2019, you ordered flags to be flown at half-staff until his funeral. We would expect nothing less for Officer Peter Jerving.
Furthermore, we would hope leaders such as yourself would call on all citizens in Wisconsin to support law enforcement and for community members to engage in mentorship of these young people who are illegally terrorizing our state with crime and guns. This situation has become dire, and our youth need guidance and hope to lead them on a better path for the sake of our entire state.
Sincerely,
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Rep. Barbara Dittrich
38th Assembly District
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Rep. Bob Donovan Sen. Jesse James
84th Assembly District 23rd Senate District
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Rep. John Spiros
86th Assembly District