- Milwaukee keeps breaking records
for violent crimes, with 86 homicides this year so far.
23 more than the record set last year.
Most of these homicides caused by gunfire.
Then a week ago, three shootings downtown
near the Deer District,
including a mass shooting that injured 21 people.
The mayor there has now imposed a curfew
for people under 17 throughout the city,
and is working toward additional measures.
We sat down with Democratic State Senator, Latonya Johnson,
whose district includes the Entertainment District,
for her response.
First, I wanna say thank you very much
for joining us to talk about this.
- Thank you for having me.
- So we talked with you in 2015
about gun violence when it was at record levels then.
Today, in 2022, it's much worse.
Would you describe gun violence in your city,
as out of control?
- Gun violence in my city is out of control,
because it's to the point where kids
are getting caught in the crossfires,
just being in their front yards.
And some kids have even been killed,
like Sandra Parks,
just sitting on her living room floor, watching TV.
These are issues that need to be addressed.
There are just too many guns out on the streets.
- So as we know, a week ago,
there were three separate shootings
in the Deer District, the Entertainment District,
including a mass shooting.
What was your immediate reaction to that?
- I was saddened, I was angry, frustrated,
because it didn't have to get to this point.
We know, in the city of Milwaukee,
and there are just too many guns.
And we need to close the gun loopholes,
to try and get some of these guns off the street.
The reason why I was frustrated,
is because every year this becomes a topic,
especially for elected officials who represent Milwaukee,
and we can never get help, never get help,
but once it hits the Deer District,
then it becomes an issue of concern
during campaign time.
And this is a issue of concern every single day
for the people who live here.
- And so you felt as though
there was undue attention perhaps
paid to that particular shooting
because of where it was,
as opposed to what happens
virtually every day in this city?
- Exactly, because it happened in Milwaukee's downtown.
And Milwaukee downtown,
is one of the largest revenue generators
for this entire state.
It's like, "Oh, more needs to be done.
"And we can step in and help.
"since the elected officials
in the city aren't doing enough."
It's like, "No, you're the reason
that we can't do anything."
Because regulating guns coming into the city,
is a state issue.
Closing those loopholes.
Most people are law abiding citizens.
And so if there's a law in the book,
they're gonna follow it.
But if you can go to a website like armslist.com,
and do a private sale person to person,
there's no requirement for a background check,
I don't even have to ask you if you are a convicted felon.
So it's like we're leaving these private sales
to be monitored by self policing, and it's not working.
- Do you think there's the political will
to close those loopholes?
- No, I don't.
Not from my colleagues.
Not from my Republican colleagues,
because the one thing
that they always talk about doing,
is stronger penalties, and more police officers.
The reality is, is that the downtown area
was full of police officers,
and that did not stop the situation from occurring.
It occurred anyway, without regard for life,
without regard for life for the thousands of people
that were there just trying to enjoy the day.
And stronger penalties,
all of these things happen in the aftermath,
the police presence, and the stronger penalty.
What do we do to prevent these situations from occurring?
And no one ever has the will,
especially on the Republican side,
to step up to the plate to say,
"Look, maybe it's time that we look at our gun laws
to try and strengthen those,
to make sure that innocent people
aren't being caught in the crossfire.
- Because it's often said
that you cannot arrest your way out
of this kind of gun violence.
- You can't. You can't.
Because there are so many gun homicides
in this city every year,
and less than 50% of those are solved.
And then, last year we recovered over 3,200 guns.
The Milwaukee police department did.
Now you think about it,
those were the guns that were recovered,
and most of those were evidence guns.
I would say about 89%.
What about those guns that weren't seized,
those guns that are in the hands
of people who shouldn't have them,
that we don't even know about?
And anytime you can go to someplace like armslist.com
or to a private saler,
and just purchase a gun without a background check,
that becomes an issue.
It makes it almost available to anybody who wants one.
- What about that argument though,
that if everybody else has a gun,
I need to have a gun to protect myself.
- That's asinine, because over 900 guns
that were reported stolen,
were reported stolen from cars,
from people who probably had concealed carries,
or were in areas who could not take their guns inside.
They left them in the cars, and they were stolen.
So a gun is not going to protect you
against the element of surprise.
In most cases, you see those guns
being taken from law abiding citizens
when they are, when they are burglarized.
So that doesn't help.
We need to make sure that guns
are not getting into the hands of people
who shouldn't have them.
- One specific thing that the mayor has announced
that he is doing, is enforcing a citywide curfew
on young people under the age 17,
and imposing 100 or $200 fines.
Do you think that will work?
- I think that it's a start.
I think that the mayor is using what he has at his disposal.
He can't sit there and let the city continue to decline,
or let innocent children be killed on the street.
So he's trying to do something,
and he's using what's available.
And the unfortunate thing is
that the police are doing their job.
They're arresting these people.
They're recovering these guns.
The mayor is doing his part.
Our criminal justice system is doing their part
with what few resources that they have.
The only people who aren't doing their job,
is the state legislature.
And we can't continue to allow
Milwaukee to shoulder this burden by itself.
I hear so many of the candidates
that are now running for governor,
saying that you have to be tougher on crime.
You have to arrest these people.
The question is, when you arrest them,
if you are increasing police presence,
but you're not tackling the criminal justice system,
what do you do?
Because we don't have enough court reporters.
We don't have enough actual courts.
We don't have enough bailiffs.
Public defenders are paid $75 an hour.
And that $75 an hour for a case,
regardless of if it's a check fraud case,
or intentional homicide.
So the judges are having a hard time
getting public defenders
to take these cases on the state level
because the pay is too low.
So the judges are actually calling
private attorneys saying,
"Look, will you take this case?"
And when they do that,
the county then has to pay out of their coffers.
And the pay increases a little bit more,
but it helps for some of these lawyers to take these cases.
That money is coming out of our county budget.
So everybody's paying their fair share.
And some individuals, like our county system,
is paying money that they shouldn't have to,
but the state legislature is sitting on surpluses,
and not allowing the criminal justice system
to actually work and to do its job,
because we're starving the city of resources.
And they're willing to house people
at $34,000 a year.
And that's just including room and board.
That doesn't include the medical care,
because when you're in incarcerated,
and if you qualified for Medicaid on the outside,
or Badger care, now that becomes the state's dime.
So they're willing to increase the cost for taxpayers
on all of these services,
rather than close the loopholes
and do what they can do to stop this
from happening in the first place.
And that's the problem.
- Do you feel as though
the gun violence in Milwaukee tarnishes the city?
- It does. It tarnishes the city.
It decreases our property values.
Because even places like Trulia, and Zillow,
when you look up addresses,
as a part of their sales,
they even have crime sections.
And when people go to look up houses,
I have seen beautiful houses on that website.
But as soon as you look at the crime history,
and the location, it's a no go.
I have been told by real estate agents
that you have some agents that will not sell in Milwaukee.
So the people who could afford
to buy some of these homes
that are just absolutely lovely,
will never get to see them,
because agents don't list or sell in Milwaukee.
So we're paying.
We're paying whether we know it or not,
in terms of our property values,
in terms of our taxes,
in terms of who moves into our neighborhoods.
And the one thing that I really hate,
is when my colleagues talk about the violence,
and then they talk about poverty.
That really irks me,
because that says that poor people are violent.
And that's not the case.
I grew up in LaGrange, Tennessee, a three room shack,
no indoor plumbing, and I have never been to jail.
And, so not all poor people are violent.
And that's something that we need to
make sure that people know.
And I try to educate that in the capital.
In most cases, a lot of these people are victims
just like we are,
they're trapped in the only neighborhood
that they can afford to live in.
But violence does cause trauma.
And when people are living
in neighborhoods that are filled with trauma,
that trauma is gonna have a negative impact.
And a lot of that is what we are seeing
with the gun violence.
It's trauma. Trauma on top of trauma.
And we have to do a better job
of creating better environments for our children.
I remember years ago,
when we were talking about gun violence
in the height of Sierra Guyton, Layla Peterson,
Baby Bill Thao, and all those individuals,
the thing that hit me most,
I was sitting Honduras Park,
and I was watching kids play at dusk.
And these were all Caucasian kids.
And it dawned on me
that if Sierra Guyden had a different zip code,
if she even lived just 25 blocks
further than where she was,
she would probably still be here.
And that's unacceptable.
That's unacceptable that
our kids can't go outside and play.
We always talk about food deserts in our communities.
And that's a huge issue, especially in terms of obesity,
but what's an even greater risk,
is parents not feeling safe enough
to let their kids go outside, to exercise, to play.
That's a huge issue.
And that's affecting so many of our kids in this city.
- What is your message to your constituents
around all of this?
- That we are trying.
I'm trying.
That, as a black elected,
and I'm trying to prevent myself from crying,
having Wisconsin carry the title of being
the worst place in America for a black child,
that hits home, because I'm black, and I'm a mother.
Having to attend so many funerals for kids, that's trauma.
Having to go to the capital year after year,
and beg for help, that's trauma.
And not being able to do anything about it, that's trauma.
Because as the weather gets warmer,
and people are excited about going outside,
our kids are in the greatest danger
because they're out on the streets.
And we have to do better.
I have to get my colleagues to care.
And so many times I've been told,
"Well this isn't happening in my district,
so it's not my issue."
And I understand, I promise you that I understand that.
There are law abiding citizens,
and they deserve the right to have their guns.
There are people that hunt,
they deserve to have their guns.
But what about when those guns
are being used on your children?
If this was them,
what would they do to try and save a life?
I don't think law abiding citizens
would have issues with saving life,
especially saving the life of innocent children.
There's no reason that a two month old in this city
should know what a gunshot feels like, but they do.
And that's too much.
It's unacceptable, and we have to do better.
- All right. Thank you, Senator Johnson.
Thank you.
- Thank you.