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These articles reflect the opinion of the author and are not endorsed by the Greater Milwaukee Green Party.

Sheriff Uses Position For Political Right Wing
By Robert Miranda

Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. implemented a policy giving his deputies authority to ask motorists for their permission to search a vehicle after being stopped for a traffic violation.

A few months ago, the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission asked Milwaukee Police Chief Arthur Jones to implement the same “consent” to search policy within the Milwaukee Police Department; Chief Jones declined to do so.

Chief Jones expressed reservations for such a policy. His concerns centered largely on the issues of civil liberties and civil rights. He saw the “consent” to search request to be intimidating, counterproductive, needless and a threat to citizens’ civil liberties.

Sheriff Clarke, however, proceeded to implement this “consent” to search policy and after 2,200 man-hours the results are as follows: five (5) guns retrieved. 

Yet, while his deputies were cruising the streets of the City of Milwaukee looking for guns, the Sheriff appears to have forgotten that the suburbs also need to be patrolled, so that incidents like the one that took place just a few days ago in Oak Creek, around the 5800 block of south Pennsylvania, can be averted. In fact, people in the suburbs carry guns, as well. Remember the incident where the shooting death of 21-year-old Joseph George took place at a bar in Oak Creek. In this case, the son of a retired Milwaukee Police officer went to prison, as did the son of Milwaukee Police Association president, Bradley DeBraska.

This past weekend over 10 individuals had a brawl in Oak Creek leaving one man seriously injured and in need of hospital care; authorities are calling this incident very violent. In this incident a gun was brought to a fight. 

Now I'm not trying to suggest that had the deputies not been invading the inner-city of Milwaukee, they might have been able to be in the Oak Creek area to help make that town’s streets safer; however, the reported results after 2,200 man-hours indicate a waste of manpower and indicate a real need for a review of the policy. 

The real tragedy in this “consent” to search matter is that the Sheriff has yet to alert the community that it has the right to deny his deputies’ request for “consent” to search. Furthermore, the deputy who requests consent to search is apparently not required to inform the person stopped of the right to refuse. This is indeed an injustice and a breakdown to the idea of good public service.

What is Sheriff Clarke going after?

The mainstream white dominant media is clamoring over Sheriff Clarke, as if he's Caesar. A recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel picture has the Sheriff standing bigger than life over the City of Milwaukee, in a seemingly visionary stance. 

With highly buffed shoes and pressed uniform Sheriff Clarke appeared in the newspaper’s front page as if to be portraying him as the future and the new Black hope for White Milwaukee. 

Yes, White Milwaukee. The White boys downtown (Metro Milwaukee Association of Commerce) need a black Caesar and Sheriff Clarke is their man. He is proving his worth to them, gaining their trust and confidence every time he implements policies such as this. And every time he attacks Black leaders or implements like policies he gains their confidence and trust even more.

The Sheriff caters to the Republican Party and their big business allies, all peddling their right-wing political views and notions through people like Clarke. These people are the same right-wingers who took control of Milwaukee County government and are now looking to take control of City Hall.

The Sheriff's decision to implement the “consent” to search policy in the City's Black and Latino neighborhoods add to his stature and credibility among those business leaders who have helped to maintain economic apartheid in our City, and as long as he shows them that he is willing to continue their covert campaigns of social and economic segregation, he will continue to gain the urban elite's confidence.

As long as he continues his campaign the media will continue to promote his leadership as visionary and bold. But Reserve Judge Russell Stamper pointed out recently, “…Do you think maybe the rest of the suburbs and municipalities in Milwaukee County might have had at least a total of five vehicles illegally carrying guns? I strongly suspect the answer is YES. Since Clarke is the sheriff of the entire county of Milwaukee, why is he not patrolling the rest of the county? Why is this patrol exclusively in the City of Milwaukee?”

Ifama Jackson, one of Black Milwaukee's grassroots leaders eloquently states, “Clarke has emerged as a paragon of negro servility. He has demonstrated that not only does he not identify with the African American community, but he also appears angry and hostile toward elected African American leadership who seek to protect it.”

Indeed, and there my friend is your answer. 

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