Finally, Milwaukee Tom Barrett has talked to the media about the Juneteenth Day violence.
It took three days for Barrett to comment on what the nation was talking about. To say that Barrett was slow to respond is an understatement.
Barrett was AWOL at a time when the people of Milwaukee needed to hear from their mayor.
That's completely unacceptable.
The videotape from TMJ4 is reminiscent, though certainly not quite as explosive, as the video of Reginald Denny being attacked by ruthless gang members during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
Juneteenth Day brought out the worst in some of Milwaukee's thugs.
After the festival was over, rather than go home, they set out to do some damage. And they did. Pat Kasthurirangaian was an innocent victim of a savage attack by these thugs.
People in Milwaukee weren't the only ones outraged by the images they saw. Citizens all over the country cringed at the sight of this man being dragged from his car by an angry mob and then beaten.
THREE DAYS after the horrific incident, Mayor Barrett decided to emerge from his bunker and say something.
TMJ4 has the story, along with video of Barrett.
No suspects have been arrested in the beating of local store owner Pat Kasthurirangaian. Milwaukee police viewed exlusive video shot by TODAY'S TMJ4 on Friday to try to identify the attackers.
Mayor Tom Barrett also saw the violence that followed Milwaukee's Juneteenth Celebration on TODAY'S TMJ4 and now he is speaking out. Barrett says he is angered and disgusted by the violence.
..."It is insane that people would act this way. It is something that is not a plus for the city at all. Obviously it is negative for the city," Barrett said.
It's insane that the mayor didn't make a statement sooner. Seventy-two hours is a bit of a lag time.
That's definitely not a plus for the city at all. Obviously, it is negative for the city.
..."We're doing everything we can here as a city. We're hiring more police officers, we're getting ready to install crime cameras," said Barrett.
Translation: Don't expect things to get any better. City government is already doing all it can.
..."The fact that no one stepped forward from that crowd was incredibly troubling to me," he said.
Some community members believe that some members of the crowd know the attackers.
"They knew, they knew who it was. Nobody wants to be labeled as a snitch. That's one of the biggest things here," said resident Lydia Johnson.
Yes.
That would be the Stop Snitchin' movement that Ald. Michael McGee promotes.
This is far from the first incident where no one steps forward and does the right thing.
Children, innocent bystanders, are shot and killed, yet these thugs and their thug friends and family members stay mum.
For example, who's in custody for the murder of 4-year-old Jasmine Owens? That would be NO ONE. But don't worry, there was a candlelight vigil.
In the Thug Culture, snitchin' is wrong. Having information about an innocent man's attackers or an innocent child's murderers and keeping that from the police is not. It's seen as proper behavior rather than being complicit in the violence. How utterly twisted is that?
The mayor says he is focusing on moving forward because he says the Juneteenth celebration will continue to be held in the future.
The Juneteenth celebration should continue to be held in the future.
There will need to be cops in riot gear rimming the parameter of the festival and an enormous police presence within. Of course, the taxpayers will have to pick up the tab for all this extra policing at the event; but Milwaukee can't afford another Juneteenth Day like 2007.
About Barrett focusing on moving forward--
I think that's a mistake. In fact, I think it's a dereliction of his duty as mayor. He can't move forward until he addresses what happened.
No one can move forward until the thug problem is confronted head on.
It cannot simply be dismissed that a band of violent sociopaths moved in after a festival, caused such mayhem, and are out on city streets.
Barrett has to focus on what's happening day in and day out in Milwaukee. It's not acceptable for him to hand over areas of the city to the thugs.
So why didn't the mayor come out right away and talk about the attacks? Barrett says he chose not to hold a press conference with his busy schedule but did make himself available for questions at other events.
BUSY SCHEDULE???
Barrett was too busy to hold a simple press conference and assure Milwaukee residents that this lawlessness will not stand on his watch.
He can't be serious. Really.
He surfaces three days later with a deer in the headlights look and tosses out a couple of sentences about moving forward.
That's not enough.
Regarding how the police responded to the chaos, Barrett said, "The police response was swift. It was effective. It was forceful in an appropriate manner. It was very professional."
From the video that I saw of the violence, I would agree. I imagine that Pat Kasthurirangaian wishes the police response had been more swift, at least more effective to have saved him from being kicked in the head and sustaining severe injuries to his face.
But in general, the police were ready to move in. Why were they ready? Because some of the people attending Juneteenth Day in Milwaukee have a history of turning violent.
That's not a proud legacy.
What's interesting about Barrett's comments is that everything the police were that day, Barrett was not.
Barrett's response was not swift. It was not effective. It was not forceful in an appropriate manner. It was not very professional.
City residents should not forget the images of an innocent man being assaulted.
They should not forget that there was no image of a strong, decisive mayor immediately assuring the citizens that such savagery will not be tolerated in Milwaukee.
If the past week didn't convince residents that Tom Barrett is the wrong leader for Milwaukee, nothing will.
The only "moving forward" that should be done is moving forward to replace Barrett.
He has to go.
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