Nice words; what deeds?

We reported on Tuesday that the Madison police union was considering holding a vote of No Confidence against Mayor Satya Rhodes Conway.

Rank and file police are disquieted by the mayor’s abject kowtowing to the racial justice warriors as they closed down busy city thoroughfares and justified the nighttime riots in downtown Madison and the property destruction and looting throughout the city as legitimate expressions of anger. 

“Thank you for being angry,” she told them.

Late Wednesday 06-03-2020 the mayor cut a video intended solely to make nice with the city’s 500 uniformed police officers. Although one police officer described it as a hostage video, the mayor does appear to be sincere or she is a better actor than we give credit. 

Well guess what? The video has been locked down. Police are telling me even they can’t get in. Why? Because Satya Rhodes Conway does NOT want her voters to learn that she actually said something nice about the police. Now she apologizes to the anarchists. 

A partial transcription:

Hello MPD family, Mayor Satya here.

Amidst unprecedented protests, violence and looting. … We are all learning as we go along … you must be exhausted … It must be absolutely infuriating to stand in heavy gear outside and listen to people constantly insult your chosen profession … to have rocks thrown at you and be in harm’s way constantly … and to work so long for so many years to build relationships around the city …

… I know you are working hard and doing an amazing job under unbelievably difficult circumstances and I thank you. … I’m here talking to you today because I have come to realize that I have not taken the opportunity to express my gratitude for your service … or to acknowledge the personal sacrifices you make during these incredible difficult times…

I was so focused on addressing the concerns of our community that I did not realize you need and deserve ….. recognition and appreciation. Please know how I appreciate your hard work, your courage, and sacrifice and your service …

Too little, too late?

One police officer told Blaska Policy Werkes:

“She has never said anything to us since she has been in office [for over a year].  This mayor is losing support; people see it for what it is. This looting and damage should have been called off from Day One. … We know that she is not on our side.”

Working against the mayor is that she drove Mike Koval, their beloved chief, into retirement by, for one thing, allocating zero additional police in her first budget (which the council amended to add three officers, far short of what the department sought).

Nor does it help that elected city leaders are busy layering ever-more second-guessing onto the working cop, in the form of a full-time police monitor and a citizen-review board — the latter mandated to include ex-offenders!

And during the protests and riots, by never countering the vitriol launched by the radical Left. Such as this statement by M Adams of Freedom Inc.:

“All actions against racist state violence are justified.”

Indeed, Satya Rhodes Conway (Progressive Dane) has piled on.  Her statement Monday 06-01-2020:

… perhaps those feelings of fear and vigilance will help people understand what it is like to live with the public health crisis of racism, which requires Black people and people of color to be vigilant every day of their lives to protect themselves from a world where they can be killed for jogging, driving, being at home, being outside – just living their lives; a world where they are all too often targeted and sometimes killed by police.

Nor has the mayor countered a statement from alders (most of them also Progressive Dane, like the mayor) denouncing the police for “a gross and unnecessary display of force” and demanding a shopping list of who the police injured, what was done to treat the injuries, what weapons did they use and who manufactured them, etc. etc. and etc.

⇒ EXTRA CREDIT: Police are backing off Joe Biden, Politico says.

Blaska’s Bottom Line: Rank and file police may be learning they have more political muscle than any chief.

What’s the next shoe to drop?