Here & Now

GOP Stance on Police Reform

Frederica Freyberg:

First, Republicans and the Democratic governor were at odds over the path forward when dealing with coronavirus. Now another contentious issue when it comes to police reform. Republican Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke joins us from Kaukauna this week with his insights. Thanks for being here.

Jim Steineke:

Thanks for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:

We have not spoken in a couple weeks. What is your reaction to the deadly force used in the death of George Floyd?

Jim Steineke:

Absolutely horrific. I can’t imagine anybody that could watch that video, over eight minutes the officer kneeling on George Floyd’s neck, him pleading for help, and eventually passing away and not feel the outrage that I think everybody should feel. It was disgusting. Something there is no place for in law enforcement and we’ve got to work to make sure these cases don’t reoccur.

Frederica Freyberg:

A democratic bill at the state Capitol would make the primary duty of all law enforcement to preserve the life of all individuals and that deadly force is to be used only as a last resort. How willing is the Republican majority to get behind this legislation?

Jim Steineke:

Well, yeah, I guess when it comes to that particular piece of legislation, I’m not exactly sure what the goal is because that is already in place in police departments all over the state. Police departments all over the state already have a goal of de-escalation, minimizing the use of force. I mean, when we talk about the use of force in law enforcement, I think it’s somewhere around less than 1% of the cases where there’s any kind of use of force in an arrest. So we are talking about a small minority of the cases, but obviously when you have situations like George Floyd, and others who have fell victim to police brutality, it heightens the issue and highlights it more, but there’s already these policies on the books throughout the state.

Frederica Freyberg:

Policies on the books would be different than state statutes, something passed by legislators. What would you like to see in your initial comments about your horror about what happened to George Floyd. You said that really something needs to be done. What would that be?

Jim Steineke:

I mean, it’s hard as a legislator to admit that we don’t have all the answers. It’s hard to put forward pieces of legislation that will end racism and change the hearts and minds of people that do harbor those racist tendencies. I think we have to be careful going forward that whatever we do is done in a vein that makes sure we protect the health and safety of our citizens. Make sure that people of color living in our communities don’t fear the police. That is something that as a white male I just don’t understand. So I want to understand that better and the conversations have to be held with people of color throughout the state, leaders in our communities, law enforcement, the faith community, we have to have a broader conversation about race and what we can do as a society as a whole, not just through legislation, but through societal change and reforms that will help move this process along further.

Frederica Freyberg:

I know that Governor Evers would like to see legislation hit his desk around this issue of police reform. Are you saying that that’s not going to happen and that — are you willing to speak with him about this?

Jim Steineke:

Well, yes. Certainly we are willing to speak with him. I mean — that’s something that I would, I think everybody is open to conversations about legislation going forward. I think like I said, we are not saying legislation does not need to happen, but I think the broader conversation needs to happen. People have to remember in Wisconsin we have already done some reforms to how officer-involved shootings are investigated and other things that kind of have changed the conversation over the course of the years and moved us forward. But continuing those conversations is critical and especially heading into the next legislative session.

Frederica Freyberg:

Have you had any of those conversations yet with the Evers’ administration?

Jim Steineke:

No, the Evers’ administration has not reached out to us. Obviously given the news of this week with his secretly tape recording our conversations that has put a wedge in between the two sides even further than was already there, and has damaged some of the trust that we were trying to build going forward so we can have some conversations about these monumental issues. But hopefully the Evers’ administration will recognize how serious a mistake that was to secretly record these conversations and do something about it.

Frederica Freyberg:

I do know on that that the governor said he himself was not aware of that but understood and thanks very much, Representative Steineke, for joining us.

Jim Steineke:

Absolutely. And thank you. And it’s important, if he did not understand that was going on, I take him at his word. But then somebody should– whoever authorized this in his office should pay the consequences for it.

Frederica Freyberg:

All right. Representative Steineke, thank you.

Jim Steineke:

Thank you.