Chief Ed Flynn calls Assembly Speaker Vos "intentionally misinformed" on Milwaukee crime numbers

Source: Milwaukee Journal SentinelAug.迷你倉沙田 12--State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos' assertion that Milwaukee has made its crime problem worse through policing "errors" prompted Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn on Monday to label the Republican leader an "intentionally misinformed" armchair chief.Vos, commenting on Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's plea for $500,000 in state matching funds to boost policing, said the city needed to prove it could fight crime effectively before getting help."The city of Milwaukee has made errors over time, reducing the number of sworn officers that are actually hired and on the streets," Vos told Wisconsin Eye."There's been a dramatic decline in the number of officers who are patrolling, to the point where we actually have some squad cars where they're saying, 'go out by yourself,'" Vos said. "And then they find that somebody's committing a crime and they have to wait for backup from another single-man squad car.""I think those are bad decisions that have been made by the city," Vos said in the Wisconsin Eye interview recorded Aug. 7. "I certainly don't want to exacerbate those, but we need to have them step up first. They have created a lot of these problems with the policies that have been implemented."Still, Vos said he was "definitely open" to considering the city's request.Responding Monday afternoon, Flynn's office issued a statement that included this from Flynn:"While every spike in crime brings out the usual armchair chiefs issuing the usual armchair press releases, it is obvious that Representative Vos has been intentionally misinformed. I welcome the opportunity to have an adult conversation with him about Milwaukee's crime fighting needs that moves beyond the sound bites."Flynn's chief of staff, Joel Plant, said in a statement that compared to 2007 (when Flynn became chief), currently more police officer positions are filled, the vacancy rate for sworn officers is down and reported crime is lower, including violent crime."The recent rash of violence illustrates the challenges we are facing and underscores the continuous need for specific, focused, data-driven strategies to reduce and prevent violence in our community," the statement said.In the Wisconsin Eye interview, Vos also had strong words for Barrett, who lost a bitter battle with Vos, the GOP-controlled state Legislature and Gov. Scott Walker over Walker's move to eliminate residency rules requiring that city employees and Milwaukee school employees live in Milwaukee. The rules were lifted in the recently passe迷你倉價錢 state budget bill."Unfortunately the mayor took all of his time during the budget talking about residency," Vos said. "I think he should have taken a big chunk of his time instead of saying, 'how do we trap people in Milwaukee,' say how do we make sure that people who are living there feel safe, so that more people want to move in."Vos added: "If he wants to advocate for an agenda like that, I will stand there right next to him trying to find ways to make it happen. But if it's about blaming other people and going after the suburbs and the kinds of things he's done in the past, then it's going to be counterproductive and he won't get what he needs to get done."Walker, the Journal Sentinel reported last week, quickly threw cold water on Barrett's request for a state match to pay for police overtime. He said there would likely be a long line of mayors in cities across the state who would ask for money if the state provided funds to Milwaukee.The violent week in Milwaukee left 23 people wounded by gunfire since Aug. 2, with seven of them dying from their wounds, officials said on Friday. In addition, a man was beaten to death, meaning the city recorded eight homicides from Aug. 2 through Thursday.Police said Friday that five suspects have been arrested in connection with the shootings, and arrests have been made in four of the homicides.Flynn and Assistant Chief Edith Hudson said last week that they were confident crime will be reduced through the show of strength in north side neighborhoods, accompanied by intensive analysis of crime patterns and suspects; more community policing; redeploying available resources; and increased information sharing among different units of the department.On Wisconsin Eye, Vos was interviewed along with Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, a Democrat, on an installment of "Civil Dialogue" hosted by Steven Walters.Barca spoke first, saying the GOP-controlled Legislature could show that it's not anti-Milwaukee by funding the city overtime request and by heeding Flynn's and Barrett's call for mandatory minimum sentences for those who illegally possess a firearm.Barca defended Flynn for his thoughtful efforts to improve policing in Milwaukee.Vos interrupted, saying, "But it's not working, right, Peter?"Vos did not comment directly on the mandatory sentence idea.The full interview with Vos and Barca is on Wisconsin Eye.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Visit the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel at .jsonline.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉庫