On Tuesday's New Day, CNN gave attention to recent surges in violent crime in American cities, including Milwaukee, as it brought aboard Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke as a guest to give his take on why the spike has occurred.
Sheriff Clarke, an elected Democrat, began by making a conservative argument against "failed social engineering projects," as he advocated longer prison sentences, before complaining about "slime" being thrown at American police officers by the "political class."
After co-host Alisyn Camerota brought up a Justice Department investigation into the Milwaukee police from 2011, Clarke let loose on the Justice Department for making his job more difficult:
Well, first of all, some of the things you raise, none of that's proven. Those things are thrown about. I want to see the data to suggest any of that stuff is actually going on here. First of all, we have too much involvement from the Department of Justice who are trying to emasculate law enforcement officers, federalize these agencies. It ties them up with reports inside station houses instead of out in these communities serving the people who need them the most.
The Milwaukee Democrat added:
One of the things that I think needs to happen here is for the political class all across the United States who engage in this slime throwing for some cheap political points to back off, knock it off, let us go back to work. Keep an eye on us, sure, I have no problem with that. I do that on a daily basis here in my own organization, but I don't need any involvement from the federal government, and I don't need these politicians out there trying to score cheap political points at the expense of the American law enforcement officer.
Sheriff Clarke concluded:
And once we feel confident enough that we have the support of the political class -- we know we have the support of these communities. I don't care what people are saying. We could not get this done if we didn't. But once we realize that we have the support of the political class who aren't going to use us for political purposes, you'll see more assertive policing. You'll see more self-initiated and proactive policing.
Last month, Sheriff Clarke appeared on FNC's Hannity show and railed against the "race politics" of the "liberal mainstream media."
Below is a complete transcript of the segment from the Tuesday, June 2, New Day on CNN:
ALISYN CAMEROTA: Several American cities battling a spike in crime. Cities from New York to L.A. seeing a surge in gun violence after nearly two decades of declining crime rates. Topping the list is Milwaukee, where homicides are up a staggering 180 percent from this time last year. This is according to the Wall Street Journal, who crunched the numbers. So, joining us now, is Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke. ... Sheriff, Milwaukee's gun violence up 180 -- homicides up 180 percent. To what do you attribute that?
SHERIFF DAVID CLARKE, MILWAUKEE COUNTY: This is a manifestation of these failed social engineering projects going on here in Milwaukee masqueraded as criminal justice and prison reform. It's created a revolving door mechanism in the criminal justice system where the police arrest dangerous career individuals -- career criminals, I should say -- take them into custody, get them charged with offenses, only to have the criminal justice system spit them back out into these neighborhoods to re-offend once again. This has been a disaster for these struggling communities here in the Milwaukee area, and we're suffering, as a result.
CAMEROTA: So, Sheriff, you attribute all of this to, what, the fact that prison sentences are too lenient, they're not long enough?
SHERIFF CLARKE: Right, things like community corrections. These are all failed experiments. Deferred prosecutions where they won't charge an individual, thinking that, you know, some job training and some counseling is what will make these career individuals -- where criminal behavior is deeply ingrained inside of them, that it will turn them around. These things do not work. They haven't worked anywhere -- maybe in a limited capacity -- but when you try them to scale, they do not work. I've made it clear in Milwaukee for the last several years that this was going to -- that this day was going to come. So here we are.
CAMEROTA: So, in other words, you think that more incarcerations would be the answer? Because some people have suggested, I mean, this week there's this theory that police, because of what happened in Ferguson and other places where police were under the spotlight for excessive force, that, in fact, they felt hamstrung, and the police have backed off basically policing because of the federal oversight. Do you see that nexus?
SHERIFF CLARKE: Well, you know, there's been a constant barrage against the American police officer, but that's something recent. I think we're at a tipping point -- it probably came sooner than I thought. But the fact is, the police here and all across America, they haven't quit on their community. They wouldn't do that. They have too much honor and commitment.But what is lacking now is that proactive, that self-initiating policing where officers take risks, under the rule of law, they develop a reasonable suspicion, they approach an individual, they ask some questions. If they have a reasonable suspicion that they might be armed, they pat them down and conduct that investigation. But those are high-risk stops, we call them. Sometimes they can lead to an officer's death, as it did in New York with Officer Brian Moore, who was engaged in that very same thing.
And so, when they realized -- the American police officer -- that we don't have the backing of the political class who has not risen above the slime being thrown around at us, they're going to back off from that sort of stuff and just answer the calls for service. So, if we want the American police officer to be assertive once again -- because once you turn that engine off -- because cops, they run at high RPMs, they're hyper-vigilant, their engine is constantly running all the time. But once you shut that engine down, it's very hard to re-start. It's just not worth taking the risk if you're going to lose your life or if you're going to end up with some criminal indictment.
CAMEROTA: But are you seeing that in your department? I mean, you're the boss obviously of your sheriff's department. Are you seeing your deputies not trusting their gut anymore?
SHERIFF CLARKE: I'm seeing that all across the country, and I've been all across the country. I spent some time out in New York about a month or six weeks ago -- and this is what the American police officer -- I spent a week in Washington D.C. during police week, and law officers all across America came up to me and that's what they say: "Sheriff, we don't know anymore -- we don't trust the political class -- we don't know if it's worth [it] to be very proactive, these high-risk stops, and to engage in self-initiated policing, we'll just go to the calls for service that we get sent to. You know, until we feel, we have this feel -- we know we have the backing of the community. Right now, we do not have the backing of the political class."
CAMEROTA: And so, Sheriff, what's the answer? Because obviously we have also seen, on the flip side, that there have been cases of excessive force, and there have been cases of bad police officers doing bad things. Even Milwaukee in 2011 was the subject of a Department of Justice oversight because of a whole bunch of things like racial profiling, searches without probably cause, targeting of minorities for harassment excessive use of force. So, honestly, those are not things that engender a good feeling in the community, but you do want police officers to be able to trust their gut. What is the fine balance here? What's the answer?
SHERIFF CLARKE: Well, first of all, some of the things you raise, none of that's proven, those things are thrown about. I want to see the data to suggest any of that stuff is actually going on here. First of all, we have too much involvement from the Department of Justice who are trying to emasculate law enforcement officers, federalize these agencies. It ties them up with reports inside station houses instead of out in these communities serving the people who need them the most.One of the things that I think needs to happen here is for the political class all across the United States who engage in this slime throwing for some cheap political points to back off, knock it off, let us go back to work. Keep an eye on us, sure, I have no problem with that. I do that on a daily basis here in my own organization, but I don't need any involvement from the federal government, and I don't need these politicians out there trying to score cheap political points at the expense of the American law enforcement officer.
And once we feel confident enough that we have the support of the political class -- we know we have the support of these communities. I don't care what people are saying. We could not get this done if we didn't. But once we realize that we have the support of the political class who aren't going to use us for political purposes, you'll see more assertive policing. You'll see more self-initiated and proactive policing.
CAMEROTA: Sheriff David Clarke, we appreciate you coming on New Day with your perspective.
SHERIFF CLARKE: It's my pleasure.
CAMEROTA: Thank you.
