It’s been a bad couple of days for the Milwaukee Police Department. First came reports that a Barack Obama poster was found defaced in a Milwaukee Police district station, reports that are disturbing on many levels:
Police chief Edward Flynn launched an internal investigation and issued a strong rebuke after a Barack Obama poster with a bullet drawn near his head turned up on a table in the District 5 police station.
Flynn learned of the defaced poster on Thursday, according to a release issued late Friday afternoon.
The Professional Performance Division within the department has been directed to investigate and the department also notified the U.S. Secret Service about what could be construed as a threat against the president-elect.
Unclear from the police statement is the location of the table, and whether the area is accessible to the general public or restricted to police only.
The release also does not state directly that a police officer or commander is suspected of drawing the bullet, but Flynn’s statement suggests that belief.
Obviously I can’t speak to what message the individual who defaced the Obama poster was seeking to convey, but it seems to me the message is one of obvious dislike of Obama and perhaps even a threat against Obama. I’m not necessarily disappointed that someone chose to exercise their First Amendment right to freedom of speech to express their political beliefs – after all, that is their right – but I’m disappointed a police officer working in Milwaukee’s Fifth District would choose to exercise their right to free speech in a manner that would paint the Milwaukee Police Department in a bad light. It shows a stunning lack of good judgment and common sense on the part of whomever chose to deface the Obama poster, and I can only hope it turns out the individual in question isn’t a Milwaukee Police officer.
Also making news are reports a Milwaukee Police officer has been formally charged with beating his wife:
A criminal complaint issued Thursday charges Patrick M. Fuhrman, 33, with substantial battery, a felony with a maximum penalty of up to a $10,000 fine and imprisonment for 3 ½ years.
According to the complaint, Fuhrman assaulted the 38-year-old woman Monday at their home. She told investigators Fuhrman grabbed her by the neck with both hands and threw her to the ground, where she struck her head and cut her lip, the complaint says. Fuhrman then beat her several times on her head, according to the complaint. She was treated at a hospital.
This isn’t the first instance of a Milwaukee Police officer being involved in a domestic violence related incident, and I’m sure it won’t be the last, but it seems pretty clear more needs to be done on the part of the Milwaukee Police Department to address this issue, because I know of a good number of Milwaukee Police officers who’ve been convicted of domestic violence-related charges that never made the news.
Really? You know of a good number of Milwaukee Police Officers that have been CONVICTED of domestic violence and it never made it to the news? Interesting, because according to the Lautenberg Act, any police officer, security guard or military member convicted of an incident of domestic violence, even if it is a misdemeanor, can not possess a firearm, even in the performance of their duties. So, if there was a conviction, the Department would have no choice but to terminate their employment.