Stay Home

I agree!

It’s a plea directed to those of you who are still uncertain about which way to vote. And it’s as simple as it is heartfelt: Stay home.

Election Predictions

I hardly ever do election predictions because I suck at them. But I’ll venture out today…

I predict that Senator Grothman will win reelection. But I think that he won’t win by the same margin in the district as Romney does. This will be perceived as a dig and open up an avenue for a primary challenge in 4 years.

I think that Romney will win the presidency handily, but I’m still on the bubble on if he’ll win Wisconsin. I think so, but I’m not sure.

The West Bend school referenbum will go down handily. In a high turnout election in this district, I don’t think it stands much of a chance.

As I said, however, I suck at predictions. What do you think?

Mandatory Arrest

Ummm...

MILWAUKEE — No one in Wisconsin has authority to ensure police departments are responding to domestic violence cases as they should, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Sunday.

State statutes say local police must arrest domestic violence suspects, even if an alleged victim doesn’t cooperate. But the Journal Sentinel reported there is no guarantee local police departments will follow through, because there is no oversight.

The newspaper investigation came after a man with previous run-ins with the law killed his wife and two other women at a Brookfield spa last month before killing himself. The Brown Deer Police Department has been under fire because it did not arrest Radcliffe Haughton during domestic violence incidents in January 2011 and just weeks before the shooting.

“If there’s no arrest, you’re enabling behavior. This individual is only becoming more emboldened by our lack of responding appropriately,” said David R. Thomas, program administrator for domestic violence education at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

As a matter of principle, I disagree with the mandatory arrest law. For those who will construe that to mean that I want to enable domestic violence, you’re way off base. The police should have discretion in most situations - including domestic violence calls. In the case cited, it appears that the police used poor judgment, but that’s not always the case. If there’s a clear case of abuse, then arrest the culprit and throw the book. But if the police show up and all there is are accusations, then why should they arrest someone with no cause? Would we tolerate the police acting like that in the case of any other alleged criminal act? Of course not. The fact that domestic violence is a horrible crime does not mean that we should allow the police to suspend the normal rules of police propriety meant to protect the civil rights of citizens.