MADISON, Wis. — Moments of anger, passion, and tears punctuated the second meeting of the Speaker’s Task Force on Racial Disparities in the capitol Thursday.
Madison state Rep. Sheila Stubbs, a Democrat, hopes those moments lead to long-term change between police and the communities they’re sworn to protect.
“What policy needs to be corrected so that doesn’t happen again?” she said. “That’s what I’m really hoping comes out of this conversation. What policy is not written that needs to happen? What policy exists that we need to be looking at?”
She got ideas from families who testified in front of her Thursday, bringing concerns over no-knock warrants, chokeholds and a lack of mandated crisis intervention training.
“I feel that these officers need to be better trained on how to handle somebody that’s in crisis because really at the end of the day my son shouldn’t be dead,” said Toni Biegert, whose son Joseph was killed by police in Green Bay during a wellness check in 2015. “He shouldn’t be dead. He should be here with me with his family, with his loved ones.”
Biegert was joined by other families who have gone through similar situations, even one who dealt with loss the same year: the family of Tony Robinson.
“We cannot have any more lives taken,” said Andrea Irwin, Robinson’s mother. “These are lives. They’re not just numbers on a piece of paper. They’re heartbeats. They’re families.”
Task force co-chair and Assembly majority leader Rep. Jim Steineke, R-Kaukana, said it was hard to listen to the pain families have gone through.
“I can only imagine if I was in their shoes how I would be feeling myself,” he said. “Losing a child, it’s unimaginable, especially when you think about what they went through, regardless of who’s right or wrong.”
Steineke said this task force isn’t about being anti-police, instead calling it an “anti-bad cop effort.”
“We’re trying to make sure public safety is protected and good law enforcement is honored,” he said.
At least one speaker talked about defunding the police as a policy she’d like to see, which would be unlikely to pass a Republican-controlled legislature. Others called for accountability for officers.
Steineke said there are places for consensus, even from law enforcement agencies like the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, which put forth bills that would reform policing. The task force is scheduled to hear from law enforcement at its next meeting Dec. 3.
“They are always looking to improve their training and outcomes,” Steineke said, but added “there’s going to be areas where we can’t agree.”
Steineke and Stubbs do agree the task force can put together a package of reform legislation by late January or early February. Stubbs is hopeful having the broad array of voices involved will help the bills become law more quickly.
“I’m serious about this work, and it’s meaningful to me,” she said. “It is important that we pass meaningful legislation.”
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