Pendulum Is Swinging Back

There are several topics I want to discuss. It is with delight that I report to you that Joanne Chesimard has died. In case this name does not ring a bell in your mind, let me refresh your memory. Chesimard is a convicted cop killer. She and her accomplices shot and killed New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster and wounded another during a traffic in 1973. Chesimard during court proceedings was accused of disarming Foerster and shooting him in the head with his service weapon as he lay wounded on the ground.

She was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. While serving her sentence she, with the help of a revolutionary group called the Black Liberation Army on the outside, was able to escape. She ended up in Cuba in 1984 where she was granted asylum by Cuban President Fidel Castro and changed her name to Assata Shakur. She has lived there ever since. Now do you recall this case?

After being elected President in 2016, Donald Trump made a request to the Cuban government to return her to the U.S. but because the U.S. has no diplomatic relations with Cuba, the request was denied. She remained on the FBI most wanted list. She has not served out her sentence.

Shakur has reportedly died in Cuba. It was reported by the Cuban government and her daughter. I would not trust this without seeing the body and subjecting it to a medical examiner here in the U.S. Call me crazy but I would not put it past Shakur’s family to be creating a scam to slip Shakur back into the U.S. to live anonymously with her family who has not seen her in forever.

The state department should seize the body if it is returned since she is on the FBI top ten most wanted criminals. She should ceremoniously have her casket placed into a prison cell for 24 hours so Trooper Forester and his survivors can have closure. For anybody who thinks this is an over-the-top suggestion I say this. Go back and read the details of how Trooper Foerster was viciously murdered. Then come back and talk to me.

Now this topic. I have been on a crusade since retiring as sheriff to defend the honor, courage, integrity and service of the American police officer. Ever since the incident in Ferguson, Missouri that spawned the hands up don’t shoot lie and all the way through the George Floyd incident I have watched our profession battered, smeared, and defunded. Attempts were made at criminal justice reform that strengthened criminals and caused crime to escalate. All of this occurred in a short time frame. I have watched law enforcement officers face prosecution by politically motivated prosecutors and fired for acts they had no control over.

I am sensing a wind shift back in our favor. Communities are moving past the cop hating vitriol and beginning once again to appreciate the significant role that police play in an orderly society. We have a long way to go but we are going to have to change the way we operate politically.

Ever since I can remember, most cops were advised to stay out of politics and just do your job. That day is over. Our profession was dragged into the middle of the political ring against our will. Black Lives Matter and Antifa utilized political warfare tactics against us. So here we are. Through our police unions, FOP and PBA we have to go to our state legislatures and start making demands just like every other labor organization does. We should start by pushing for a repeal of no bail laws and making killing an officer a capital offense to be charged federally so capital punishment can be applied. No longer should officers have to work past the expiration of a labor contract without heavy fines for municipalities that would go directly to police unions. Currently Milwaukee police are into their third year without a contract. The city has been dragging their feet working toward arbitration. We have to be willing to threaten job actions like other labor organizations do to get their complaints heard. Not writing citations affects city revenue. We have to be willing to do job walkouts even if temporarily. I was part of a walkout that occurred in Milwaukee in the eighties. The city immediately went to court to get an injunction. We obeyed the court order after 2 shifts but we got everybody’s attention. We need to hold massive rallies in communities and in the Capital demanding to have our grievances heard and satisfied.

Currently, municipalities do not take police labor organizations seriously by exploiting our commitment to keep doing our job. That needs to be over. Heavy political pressure will come from the public onto elected officials if we work to increase public support.

We need to collectively band together with every law enforcement labor organization in our state. We need to band together politically with fire fighter labor organizations and corrections organizations. We are called first responders and that includes other public safety units. Let us begin to act collectively instead of many disparate labor organizations.

You all have heard the phrases that there is strength in numbers and striking while the iron is hot. Let us begin to take advantage of the political winds being at our back after having it in our face or so long.

Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. is former Sheriff of Milwaukee Co, Wisconsin, President of America’s Sheriff LLC, President of Rise Up Wisconsin INC, Board member of the Crime Research Center, author of the book Cop Under Fire: Beyond Hashtags of Race Crime and Politics for a Better America. To learn more visit www.americassheriff.com