MADISON (WKOW) -- Following years of studies and recommendations after the 2015 police shooting death of Tony Robinson, the Madison Common Council on Tuesday night approved one of the key suggestions: the creation of a civilian police oversight board.
By a 16-4 vote, alders passed a measure that would create the board with a three-member working group beginning the process of configuring the board.
"Now is the time for us to do the work of translating the language in the recommendations into law by writing ordinances and by writing budget amendments to make it real and I urge everyone to vote for this," said Alder Rebecca Kemble. "It's beyond time we did this."
The four alders who opposed the measure said they support creating the board but wanted the working group that will launch it to have five members instead of three.
One of the other key recommendations from the city's ad hoc study was the creation of a Police Auditor position. The council has held off on voting to approve that job because some alders have expressed concern that the role as currently defined would not give the auditor enough power.
While Madison's 2020 budget includes $200,000 for the creation of the auditor position, it does not have any funding set aside for the operational expenses of creating the oversight board.
The council also voted Tuesday to amend a $125,000 request from Madison Police for new equipment. While alders approved $75,000 in funding for the purchase of a generator at the East Station, they voted unanimously to strip out $50,000 that would have paid for "less lethal" equipment.
Acting Police Chief Vic Wahl said he wanted to equip each squad car with 40 mm launchers that shoot sponge-tipped projectiles. Wahl said it would ensure every responding officer had another less lethal weapon at their disposal. The alders cited what they considered to be excessive use of tear gas and pepper spray during three nights of protests two weeks ago that ended with a fraction of the group vandalizing and looting businesses on State Street.
"I do think it raises the question of what less lethal weapons means in the current moment," said Alder Marsha Rummel. "I would just urge us all to keep this topic as we move forward with the community oversight board."
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June 17, 2020 at 11:45AM
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Madison Common Council approves creation of police oversight board, rejects $50k police request for "less lethal" weapons - WKOW
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