Wisconsin lawmakers introduce police reform package

MADISON, Wis. - Two Republican lawmakers introduced legislation Wednesday, Jan. 20 designed to reform police use-of-force policies and investigations, including proposals that would ban training on chokeholds, punish municipalities that defund police departments, and create a board to investigate officer-involved deaths and injuries.

Sens. Van Wanggaard and Alberta Darling's plan comes after the state saw multiple protests last year over police brutality and racism sparked by George Floyd's death in Minneapolis.

An Illinois teen named Kyle Rittenhouse allegedly shot and killed two men and wounded a third during an August demonstration in Kenosha after a police officer shot Jacob Blake in the back during a domestic dispute. Prosecutors have said Blake was armed with a knife and didn't charge the officer with any criminal wrongdoing

"Increasing accountability and transparency for the police, which also increasing community involvement, is something we can all agree on," Wanggaard, a former police officer, said in a statement.

The legislation's fate looks unclear. Adam Gibbs, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, didn't return a message inquiring about its chances. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has formed his own task force to study police reforms. His office referred questions on the Senate package to Majority Leader Jim Steineke. His spokeswoman, Alesha Emmert, said Republican leaders will ask the task force for thoughts on the bills.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Tony Evers didn't return a message. The governor introduced his own reforms in the wake of the Kenosha protests, including banning chokeholds and no-knock search warrants, creating use-of-force standards, and grants for organizations that work to prevent violence. Republicans took no action on any of it.

The new legislation would ban training on chokeholds and reduce state aid to municipalities that reduce funding for hiring, training, and retaining officers by however much the municipalities cut. That amount would be redistributed as an aid to municipalities that didn't cut police funding.

The package also would create a board that could choose to investigate officer-involved deaths and serious injuries after prosecutors have finished with the case. The board would be made up of representatives from police unions, a mental health professional, a defense attorney, and a representative of the Wisconsin District Attorneys Association.

The board would include representatives from multiple statewide police unions, a police training director, and mental health professional. The board would have to issue a public report at the conclusion of its investigations with recommendations to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Other proposals in the legislation include:

• Mandating police departments post use-of-force policies online.
• Requiring officers to report every use-of-force incident they're involved in or observe and prohibiting disciplining an officer who reports policy violations.
• Requiring the state Justice Department to publish annual use-of-force reports.
• Expanding the Milwaukee and Madison police and fire commissions and requiring commissioners receive training on use-of-force policies.

Sen. Lena Taylor, a Milwaukee Democrat, has signed onto the package with Wanggaard and Darling except for the proposal to cut aid to municipalities that cut police budgets. She said she has questions about what cutting police budgets mean. For example, she asked, if a federal grant expires would that amount to a cut and reduced aid? The proposal also weakens local control, she added.

League of Wisconsin Municipalities lobbyist Jerry Deschane said his group is still studying the package but called the plan to reduce municipal aid "misguided." He warned the proposal would lead to cuts in other services to shore up police budgets.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, another group of legislators resurrected a bill that would allow more convicts to have their records expunged.

Judges currently can order expungement if the conviction is for a Class H felony or below, the crime wasn’t violent, the person committed the crime before age 25, and has no previous felony conviction. Expungement is contingent upon sentence completion and must be ordered during sentencing.

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The bill from Sen. Alberta Darling and Rep. David Steffen, both Republicans, and Sen. Kelda Roys and Rep. Evan Goyke, both Democrats, would allow judges to order expungement after sentence completion and remove the age limit.

A nearly identical measure cleared the Assembly last session but died in the Senate.