Supervisor Supreme Moore Omokunde today issued the following statement regarding comments by Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke, Jr.: “I have become increasingly perturbed and discouraged by the actions and words of Sheriff Clarke. I have made it a point to be extremely polite, courteous and professional with him during the County Board’s Finance committee hearings, and I’ve even overlooked my personal issues with him in voting to allocate $4 million to his department’s budget in the interest of public safety.
“That being said, Sheriff Clarke has gotten out of hand, and he's been out of hand for quite some time. Whether it has been his egomaniacal battles with County Executive Chris Abele or his personal attacks on other representatives elected locally and nationally, he has grossly ventured out of bounds, and this is not what the people of Milwaukee County elected him to do.
“He has reduced himself to name calling other public officials and even attacking members of the very constituency that he serves, making such charges as to say protesters are out to overthrow the government.
“It is obvious that Sheriff Clark is a proponent of the Second Amendment. But it does not appear as if he has the same fervor for the First Amendment, which guarantees people the right to peacefully assemble and challenge their government. He is putting the lives of people who choose to join social justice movements such as ‘black lives matter’ at risk with his rhetoric, and he has referred to the movement as ‘black lies matter.’ In addition, referring to people as ‘subhuman slime’ and suggesting that law-enforcement pick and choose whom they should protect is beneath the office of the Sheriff.
“Perhaps his biggest affront has been his recent declaration that there is no police brutality, that it's ‘something we did away with in the 1960s.’ I'd advise the Sheriff to tell that to the unarmed black men and women who have been killed by police officers, or the recent incident in South Carolina where a young lady was body-slammed and then tossed across the room.
“Again, I have always been extremely polite and professional to Sheriff Clarke. It is in my nature to do so, but then one is well-advised to treat him with kid gloves in any case, lest they become one of his targets.