Shorewood Rep. Rebuts Colleague's Comment On Milwaukee Violence

SHOREWOOD, WI— Shorewood's State Representative David Bowen responded Tuesday to a colleague's suggestion that the National Guard is needed to curb violence in Milwaukee, calling it "a double down on ineffective 'tougher on crime' rhetoric."

Rep. Bowen directed his comment toward State Representative Joe Sanfelippo, of New Berlin, who earlier called on Governor Tony Evers to send in the National Guard to Milwaukee to confront violent crime in the city.

"Violent crime continues to reoccur so frequently that many have become numb to the horrific amount of people who suffer the impacts of the lawless behavior," Rep. Sanfelippo said.

Rep. Sanfelippo went on to call Milwaukee a "warzone-like setting" in his statement.

Rep. Bowen, who represents Shorewood and parts of Milwaukee in the Wisconsin State Assembly, slammed Rep. Sanfelippo's comment with a page-long statement.

"I am happy to see that my colleague Representative Sanfelippo has taken an interest in the cycles of violence that so tragically affect the City of Milwaukee," Rep. Bowen said. "I hope that Rep. Sanfelippo is willing to acknowledge the root causes of that violence and open to realizing that the very 'tougher on crime' policies he continues to champion not only fail to curb violence but actively contribute to it."

"This knee-jerk reaction of sending in actual military forces without any training in community relations would make an already bad situation even worse," Rep. Bowen said.

The brief feud between both Milwaukee area representatives came in response to a particularly violent weekend in Milwaukee — 5 were killed and 16 were injured just this past weekend, the Journal Sentinel reported.

Shorewood has experienced its own spike in property crime. Since the start of this year, more car break-ins and thefts have been perpetrated in the span of weeks than what typically occurs over months.

See also:

Car Break-Ins On The Rise In The Village: Shorewood Police

Bulk Of Shorewood's Increase In Stolen Cars Are Hyundai Or Kia

How Shorewood Police Funding Stacks Up 1 Year After George Floyd