Thursday, September 07, 2006
Milwaukee hasn't reached a crisis yet?
Call me crazy, but I think Milwaukee is in a crisis. One shooting in a single week is enough for any community to worry, but add in a 19-member gang rape?
Tom Barrett, who is the unfortunate mayor of Milwaukee, said the problems will be fixed and long-term solutions will be made.
"I think we have some huge challenges in getting people trained for jobs, staying in school and realizing that regardless of what the dispute is, you don't resort to violence," he said.
...
"There's a tale of two cities in Milwaukee," he said, repeating themes he's sounded in the past. "There are parts of Milwaukee that are doing very, very well right now. If you look at the downtown, the Third Ward, Brewers Hill, there's growth . . . but there are parts of the city and parts of the population in Milwaukee where a lack of jobs, hopelessness and lack of education rule the day."
But I think he is missing the point. His Chief of Police is the problem. From my days of living in Kenosha and watching WISN on TV, I never saw this much crime under Arthur Jones. In fact, he fixed Milwaukee's problems--gangs, violence and other crimes.
Police Chief Nannette Hegerty should be fired for her lack of effectiveness and effciency in the MPD. Looking at her credentials, she should have never been named the police chief. She wored in the juvenille division, sensitive crimes division and served as the deputy director of training bureau.
But this should lead to the bigger issue at hand:
In April 1994, President William Clinton appointed Chief Hegerty to the position of United States Marshal for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Under her leadership, the Eastern District of Wisconsin was awarded the 2001 "District of the Year" award by the United States Marshals Service.
So as a Clinton appointee, she became a U.S. Marshal. Somehow, I don't think that she fits the part of a Chief Deputy Sam Gerard or a Deputy Marshal Cosmo Renfro. I just don't see her as the type that chases down a Mark Sheridan or Richard Kimble.
But keep in mind what Clinton did the U.S. Military during that time. Donald Rumsfeld is trying to fix it six years later.
Labels: SE Wisconsin
