Socialists and Progressives vote against
Police body-worn cameras survived a test vote Tuesday 07-06-21 — barely! The Madison Common Council voted 10-9 against an amendment expressing the Council’s opposition to that police reform measure.
The Police Body-Worn Camera Feasibility Review Committee recommends body cameras for police. The Council’s vote to accept that report was pro forma. But Alder Juliana Bennett — who is both Progressive Dane and Socialist, put forward an amendment explicitly stating the City Council would “not pursue the pilot program described in the report nor full deployment of body-worn cameras.”
Neighborhood watchdog Bonnie Roe reports: “Council members voted 10-9 against adding this language. A very close vote! If marginalized groups and communities and the general public don’t wake up and publicly support this, the pilot, and therefore the whole program, is dead.”
Ms. Roe reports that voting to kill the body cam pilot were: Juliana Bennett*§, Brian Benford§ (Willie St.), Nikki Conklin*§ (northwest side), Jael Currie, Yannette Figueroa Cole*§ (Orchard Ridge, Nakoma), Grant Foster* (east side), Keith Furman (19th), Patrick Heck* (2nd), and Arvina Martin (11th).” ( * Progressive Dane § Socialist ).
Ms. Roe concludes: “To move forward with the pilot, further resolutions will need to be introduced. Time is running out.”
Blaska’s Bottom Line: That makes Ald. Christian Albouras a key swing vote. He was absent Tuesday; a tie vote would kill cameras. Curiously, the local Progressive Dane and Socialist organ (The Capital Times) has not weighed in on this important issue either way.
Education
Blaska Policy Werkes 
I commend Bonnie for taking this on, and can certainly understand her frustration. When I ran We Support the MPD, motivating people to speak out was one of my biggest challenges.
You’d think it would be easier for people now since they don’t have to physically go to the City-County Building, find a parking spot, listen to the hecklers, etc. Zoom makes it easy-peasy to make your voice heard.
I wonder if it’s a case of people who care having left the city. I know that at least three of the people who were strong voices for MPD have moved out of the state. How many others are there?
Is Bonnie new to Madison? I ask because We Support the MPD was in the public eye for more than three years, giving media interviews, in the news multiple times, etc. I would have loved to collaborate her and would have reached out to her had I known she had this level of interest.
“If marginalized groups and communities and the general public don’t wake up and publicly support this, the pilot, and therefore the whole program, is dead.”
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I commend Bonnie for taking this on, and can certainly understand her frustration. When I ran We Support the MPD, motivating people to speak out was one of my biggest challenges.
You’d think it would be easier for people now to get involved since they don’t have to physically go to the City-County Building, find a parking spot, listen to the hecklers, etc. Zoom makes it easy-peasy to make your voice heard.
I wonder if it’s a case of people who care having left the city. I know that at least three of the people who were strong voices for MPD have moved out of the state. How many others are there?
Is Bonnie new to Madison? I ask because We Support the MPD was in the public eye for more than three years, giving media interviews, in the news multiple times, etc. I would have loved to collaborate her and would have reached out to her had I known she had this level of interest.
“If marginalized groups and communities and the general public don’t wake up and publicly support this, the pilot, and therefore the whole program, is dead.”
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Great question, Paula. I did a mere modicum of research, she’s new to me, too: Seems very open RE: all relative facts.
https://scottandbonnie.com/contact-us/
As well as no stranger to “Letters to the Editor”:
https://madison.com/wsj/opinion/letters/madison-has-caring-police-department—-bonnie-roe/article_9009cd01-c66c-5800-bb12-71cb30a2caa4.html
“Please look over the department’s 2020 report at go.madison.com/PoliceReport. The department seeks and welcomes community involvement. I think you’ll be encouraged by the department we have. Not every city is so lucky.” -Bonnie Roe
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I commend any citizen who stands up to government and speaks out. The links you provided are helpful and I would have most definitely welcomed her input back in 2016, during the height of the war on Madison’s cops.
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I did a little more digging. Is Bonnie with Public Safety Connection? If so, here are some excerpts from their Nextdoor group introduction.
“1) how do we as a city and neighborhood care for young, underserved kids and those with emerging civil and criminal behavior and help intervene before they destroy their own lives and the lives of others.
“How can we inform, educate, look out for our neighbors, partner with police in ways that absolutely do not involve vigilantism or taking the law into our our own hands? Meeting with Judge Everett Mitchell, who presides over the Juvenile Division would be key.
“We will need to build trust, we want to help our city in an intentional, loving and hands on way. Maybe we have someone who looks at crime deterrents and prevention strategies used in other similar- sized cities with these growing problems and similar-sized cities that don’t have these problems and see what can be learned.”
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I get the distinct impression that one of the big reasons that social justice warriors are against police using body cameras is that the vast majority of the body camera videos being captured are proving that the narrative the social justice warriors are spewing about the police is false and it will destroy their systemic racism arguments.
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Think about this logically; if social justice warriors knew for a fact that body cameras would prove beyond a shadow of doubt that their systemic racism claims were verifiable fact and they could use the captured video to sue police, they would be demanding them at the top of their lungs in Madison streets because they’ve shown us that they really don’t give a damn about anyone rights all they want is to push a narrative; however, we have seen that, overall, body cameras are proving just the opposite, thus they have to find some reason, any reason, to be against them so they can continue spewing their false and unprovable narrative that the police force is racist.
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Same thinking as saying Antifa and BLM started the Jan 6 take over of Washington, but voting against forming a commission to prove it.
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richard lesiak wrote, “Same thinking as saying Antifa and BLM started the Jan 6 take over of Washington, but voting against forming a commission to prove it.”
I’m constantly amazed at how you can present an analogy that appears to have absolutely no relevance to what you are replying to or the blog topic. Either your mind works in mysterious ways or you’re just trolling, either way I’m not biting.
Either reply with something that’s actually relevant to the comment or the blog or shut up.
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You should read any of the actual meta-analyses in the literature on body cameras, since they’re in use all over the country and nobody can decide if they actually do anything at all. In some places, use of force increases. In some places, it decreases. There is no agreed-upon effect that they cause everywhere, really, except costing a lot of money and time. If we don’t have police accountability now, body cameras won’t magically give us accountability.
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FB wrote, “If we don’t have police accountability now, body cameras won’t magically give us accountability.”
I’m not sure if you got the idea from what I wrote that I equate police accountability to body cameras, I do not; I equate body cameras to factual evidence that can be used in a court of law, aka undeniable factual proof, of exactly how a particular police interaction with a citizen happened.
That said; I think it’s becoming more evident (at least to me) that the opposition to Police body cameras is more that social justice advocates don’t want the police to have any video evidence of criminal activity on the part of the citizens that police encounter, especially any evidence against “Black folks” as Conklin wrote (see below).
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You speak of holding police accountable. Who’s holding the criminals, DA’s, judges, & public defenders accountable?
From RetiredPoPo’s comment on this post: https://davidblaska.com/2021/07/07/ald-benford-under-thinks-policing/comment-page-1/#comment-67574
“. . . imprisoned at the Dane County Jail for a few hours before he is kicked on a signature bond. Never mind that he is already out of bail for 6 other open cases. But the system is rigged right!? Left leaning court commissioners, DAs, judges, public defenders, and other advocates all work to keep him out, but without punishment, he will be back again and again.”
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FB: When you say things like: “meta-analyses”, then I know yer funnin’ us or exhibiting the some sort of sensory deprivation, (IE: sight?). BWC won’t give us accountability per se, but they sure provide a modicum of VISUAL truth….
BTW, seems written English eludes you as well. Check this B4 yer next post, (please!):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_English
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Police body cams are a tool for accountability and are therefore related, in that BWC can provide evidence of police misconduct for which officers may be held to account, and for which the actions of perpetrators are also on display.
BWC should definitely be worn.
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Bingo.
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I sent an email to Alder Conklin asking why she is against body cameras. Her reply “ Thank you for the email. We did not vote on the pilot program last night. But, like I have said from the beginning of my campaign. I believe BWC are another tool to use against Black and brown folks. They are deceptive and can be misconstrued. Not once has the BWC been used to serve justice for Black folks. It is another discriminatory tool. I hope this gives you a better understanding.” Really?
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According to Karen Emery, Alder Conklin wrote, “I believe BWC are another tool to use against Black and brown folks. They are deceptive and can be misconstrued. Not once has the BWC been used to serve justice for Black folks.”
I have no proof that Alder Conklin actually wrote that, just the word of Karen Emery who posted it, but if Alder Conklin actually wrote that then it’s signature significant* and proof supporting the theory I wrote about above. If you’ve ever wondered what a Freudian slip looks like, Alder Conklin’s statement above would be a good example.
More specifically…
Alder Conklin wrote, “I believe BWC are another tool to use against Black and brown folks.”
Right away Conklin tries to set up who’s the victim long before any incident takes place or any facts are gathered which is how a racist black supremacist would think. Conklin can “believe” what ever Conklin’s little heart desires but just because Conklin believes it doesn’t make it a fact.
Alder Conklin wrote, “They are deceptive and can be misconstrued.”
No they are NOT deceptive, they are fact based hard evidence as to what actually took place and Conklin doesn’t seem to like the fact that actual evidence collected by BWC’s usually (not always) disproves the false narratives put forth by those Black folks in contact with the police.
Alder Conklin wrote, “Not once has the BWC been used to serve justice for Black folks.”
That’s because overall the BWC’s are proving that the narratives put forth by the Black folks in contact with police are usually false, as in lies, and it appears that Conklin is trying to protect those liars and promote their false narratives about police regardless of actual facts. It also appears that Conklin will go to any length to protect the false narratives, aka lies, including intentionally not giving the Police the BWC’s because Conklin knows that the BWC’s will present the actual facts. This is truly signature significant* to what I wrote above and Conklin’s Freudian slip. In my opinion Conklin’s unethical ends justifies the means vote against the BWC’s is an immoral anti-Police act and could be based on racist black supremacist thinking that Black folks should get treated differently than non-Black folks.
Also, this statement from Conklin shows a lack of critical thinking and logic. Conklin doesn’t seem to understand that the BWC’s are there to insure justice for all not just Black folks. Conklin’s perception that BWC’s don’t appear to be helping the Black folks is not relevant to actual justice for all. Police officers are part of that justice for all but Conklin doesn’t seem to care one bit if Police officers are falsely accused, Conklin just want’s all black people to be believed regardless of facts and Conklin will do whatever it takes to prevent Police officers from having any tool that might prove a Black persons claim to be false. Conklin appears to be an immoral black supremacist.
*Signature significance posits that a single act can be so remarkable that it has predictive and analytical value, and should not be dismissed as statistically insignificant.
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Steve,
I appreciate your response. Alder Conklin responded to my email questioning why she opposed body cameras for police. Her answer is copied directly from her email and is the portion set apart by quotation marks.
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Karen Emery wrote, “I appreciate your response.”
Thanks.
Karen Emery wrote, “Alder Conklin responded to my email questioning why she opposed body cameras for police. Her answer is copied directly from her email and is the portion set apart by quotation marks.”
Yup, I already understood all of that from what you wrote. You may have actual proof of the email but “I have no proof that Alder Conklin actually wrote that”; however, I replied as if she did write it. Maybe you could take a screenshot of the actual email and share it with us, then we could all see the proof that she wrote it. If you do take a screen shot make sure you black out or blur out your email addresses and if Conklin’s email address is not her posted Alder email address then black out or blur out that out too; we don’t need to be posting people’s personal information.
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Police wearing body cameas is a good start.
Next, we should put a classroom cam in every public school. The recorded footage should be made accessable to the public. Not only will this encourage better student behavior, but it would proglobotically impove the quality of education, the curricula and the teacher’s behavior, as well.
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Can’t wait until classes resume at high schools with no resource officers present because “some feel threatened by them” as they should if they are nasties. More applications for private will soon empty pubic schools, but, nah, they will stop them bad vouchers right? Keep in public, more power that way in numbers.
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Unfortunately, there are reports of wokeism in some private schools, too. Sad times.
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Since I work at a downtown establishment off West Wash and Regent street I see a fair amount of characters come through the parking lot and the building where I work at. There was a man who stole something out of a vehicle and since we had the whole thing on camera, after locating the man, he was arrested by the Police. The Police told us that he was “a frequent flyer”, that despite being arrested many times, he is either not prosecuted or the judge lets him free.
Having the Police Officers wearing cameras will not solve anything if the D.A. and the Judges don’t do anything other than to slap most offenders on the hand and let them free.
The D.A. and the Judges have to get the STONES to put these people away, to keep them away from the rest of society.
So let me make a suggestion.
For those people who steal in order to do drugs or alcohol, I say put them in a treatment center so they can come clean. A treatment center where they cannot get out. One that practices strict discipline such as one finds in the military. At the same time they can be taught a trade. Something they can be proud of and do well. They can be taught that to work hard and do well is a good thing and society will reward you for it.
As for the rest of the scum who beat up, rape and murder other people; lock those A-holes away for good.
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