This Just In ...
Kevin Fischer is a veteran broadcaster, the recipient of over 150 major journalism awards from the Milwaukee Press Club, the Wisconsin Associated Press, the Northwest Broadcast News Association, the Wisconsin Bar Association, and others. He has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for over three decades. A longtime aide to state Senate Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature, Kevin can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, "InterCHANGE," on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10, and heard filling in on Newstalk 1130 WISN. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their lovely baby daughter, Kyla Audrey, in Franklin.
Blaming the victim
That’s quite a story in the Small Business Times that Greg Kowalski referenced in one of his blogs.Businessman John Jazwiec claims he and his family were held hostage in their east-side Milwaukee home, victimized by an armed criminal. The response he’s getting is, to me, astonishing.
In an angry e-mail sent to neighbors and to Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Jazwiec sends a clear message, one that is shared by thousands of Milwaukeeans I’m sure, that he doesn’t feel safe in his neighborhood and he lacks confidence in the Police Department.
Bring out the tar and feathers.
Apparently, because Jaziwec didn’t sit down and write a novel for the MPD about what happened, he, the victim, is now being blamed.
The spokeswoman for the MPD, Anne Schwartz, a former co-worker of mine and a friend, essentially is calling Jazwiec a liar. The attitude is that he made up the whole story.
Alderman Michael (I’ve got my head firmly planted in the sand) D’Amato suggests that people shouldn’t be afraid in that neighborhood, that crime isn’t all that bad. He, too, insinuates that Jazwiec is lying. D'Amato reminds me of the mayor in the movie, "Jaws," trying to coax beach-goers scared out of their wits to go into the water. With people getting mugged and shot, D'Amato tells residents not to worry, be happy.
Nice.
Why the hell don’t the Milwaukee aldermen and the spokeswoman for the MPD make a big deal out of cases in the inner city of residents who refuse to cooperate with police? How about issuing critical statements about them.
There’s a larger issue at play here. Crime is the biggest problem confronting the city of Milwaukee. No one wants to do anything about it.
The Mayor’s response to crime: go out of town and attend a seminar in New York. Hand out baseball cards and Summerfest brochures. Bring out the Bookmobile. When the chief says there’s a societal crisis in Milwaukee, deny it.
The outgoing police chief has been dismal in fighting crime.
Instead of denouncing criminals and calling for an all-out aggressive campaign to fight violent crime, Alderman D’Amato pooh-poohs the situation and calls into question the integrity of a fine corporate citizen.
What a joke.
The problem isn’t Jazwiec. Milwaukee suffers from a culture of not focusing in on the real problem: we need to get tough on crime and criminals.
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