The Incidental Prosecutor

Attorney General Peg Laughtenschlager doesn't have time to worry about the escalation of violent crime in Milwaukee, and she’s put off when others suggest she should.

Immediately following the Memorial Day weekend that left four people dead and several more wounded, Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher proposed a number of measures including funding overtime hours for Milwaukee Police and Sheriffs during the summer months.

Standing in the Bay Side neighborhood where several of the deadly shootings occurred, Bucher said, “What we need is an aggressive hard-line approach against the criminal element, bringing all our resources to bear, including the largely untapped power of the state Department of Justice, which has been focused on the wrong things, namely the social agenda of the current Attorney General.”

Laughtenschlager didn’t go to Milwaukee this week. Instead she released a statement absolving her from responsibility for reducing violent crime in Milwaukee.

"It is utterly irresponsible for anyone holding public office or seeking public office to suggest that we can reduce violent crime in the city of Milwaukee unless we make a commitment to enhance law enforcement resources [and] enable responsible authorities to effectively track those who systematically purchase handguns that find their way to violent offenders.”

Apparently efforts to reduce violent crime require time and financial resources that Laughtenschlager is unwilling to commit. She prefers to spend her time suing businesses and other government entities, or standing on the Capitol steps welcoming illegal immigrants, like the man who shot five people last weekend before fleeing to Mexico.

Clearly Laughtenschlager’s priorities are wrong, but I find the lack of concern she demonstrated for Milwaukee this week most troubling when compared to the way she jumped all over the prosecution of Chai Vang in 2004.

No disrespect to the families of the hunters Chai Vang murdered, but Vang’s crimes were isolated and not complicated to prosecute. Murders and other violent crimes are epidemic in Milwaukee. Addressing these problems should be the top priority of our state’s top cop.

Laughtenschlager dropped everything and went up north to prosecute one Hmong hunter for killing six white hunters. This week she couldn’t be bothered to meet with local law enforcement officials in Milwaukee following the shootings of five minorities ---including one teenager--- that took place in a crowded public park.