Sheriff Clarke says authorities are "chasing their tails" when it comes to crime
MILWAUKEE COUNTY -- Milwaukee's top officials are weighing in on the recent disturbances in Sherman Park. Most of the people who go to the park say they are in agreement: they want to keep the haven for families safe. It's the officials who can't agree on how they plan to accomplish that.
"Tom Barrett does not want to get into a back and forth with me about what works to control crime. I've forgotten more about law enforcement than he has ever known," said Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke.
Sheriff Clarke held an hour-long press conference on Friday, July 1st. He fired back at Barrett's comments on Wednesday's park incident when dozens of young people started fighting, throwing rocks and smashing windows.
"It underscores again why we would like to see more of the Sheriff`s presence in the park. It's a county park. County buses were involved, and we need the sheriff`s presence in our parks," said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.
Pointing to a map of six month's worth of crime data, Clarke says the problem is not the park it's the neighborhoods nearby.
"You can see there is no crime occurring in Sherman Park. In fact, Sherman Park is the safest place in that one-mile radius," said Clarke.
Clarke says the solution is to increase patrols in the surrounding neighborhood, but to do that he needs more resources -- an additional 200 sheriff's deputies and 400 police officers.
It's the same numbers he mentioned just a week ago before the Public Safety Committee.
"Until then, not much will change as Milwaukee police and my deputies simply chase their tails trying to keep up," said Clarke.
Mayor Tom Barrett's officer returned with the following statement:
"We're surprised he's(Sheriff Clarke) so upset by a request to have county sheriff's deputies patrol the parks."
Back in Sherman Park, FOX6 News has seen a few police cars throughout Friday afternoon. Sheriff Clarke says he also plans to have his deputies there Friday.
A rally is planned at the park Friday at 6:00 p.m. People are invited to attend to show their commitment to keeping the peace.