University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Wednesday, March 11, 2015
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Soglin responds to Robinson protests Madison Mayor Paul Soglin responded to continued protests over the shooting of Tony Robinson in a Tuesday morning press conference. “We are very pleased with how the demonstrations have gone to date,” Soglin said. He thanked the Robinson family for focusing on the life of Tony Robinson as opposed to turning the focus to an anti-police effort. He noted the death of Robinson has been especially troubling for young people in Madison. The mayor also addressed accusations of racial bias within police department, saying it is “the wrong question to be asked.” “The problem lies within the entire criminal justice system,” Soglin continued. Denouncing comparisons of Madison’s recent officerinvolved shooting to those experienced in other cities across the country, Soglin mentioned Madison’s involvement in various initiatives to eliminate violent deaths in minority com-
munities, such as City United and the My Brother’s Keeper Community Challenge. “[These negative parallels are] not really how we’ve been trying to compare ourselves to other cities in the country,” Soglin said. He praised community policing efforts in the city as a positive reform, saying “it works, it’s successful and we’re not backing off.” The mayor said he is unaware of the status of the current investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice. “I think it’s critical that we don’t pre-judge what may come of the investigation,” Soglin said. Soglin also addressed the recent cyber attack to the city’s website Monday, saying that online payment accounts are frozen as a security measure. An investigation is underway, though the mayor said he is not yet sure who is behind the attack. —Negassi Tesfamichael
BETSY OSTERBERGER/THE DAILY CARDINAL
Young, Gifted and Black leader Eric Upchurch condemns institutional disparities in policing.
County incarceration draws protesters’ ire By Irene Burski and Michael Frett THE DAILY CARDINAL
LIBRARY MALL
Here comes the sun
Seniors Dony Gilles (left) and Wesley Scott (right) sit outside during one of the first warm afternoons of the semester. + Photo by Kaitlyn Veto
Four days after Tony Robinson’s death, protesters of all ages congregated on the steps of City-County Building early Tuesday evening, spurred by a proposed Dane County incarceration study. Unfurling a “Black Lives Matter” banner, black and white attendees holding the sign stood in silence as Young, Gifted and Black leaders Eric Upchurch and Matthew Braunginn addressed the gathered crowd, leading it in chanting “no justice, no peace,” and “all power to the people.” “Building the people [and] not the jail is a real human concern,” Upchurch said. “We cannot afford to lose another Tony Robinson.” Protesters then filled the Madison Public Protection and Judiciary Committee’s meeting, decrying a possible expansion of Dane County’s jail system. Armed with signs and, in one case, a banjo, the number of protesters caused county officials to temporarily run
out of registration slips for speakers giving testimony on the resolution, according to Public Protection and Judiciary Committee Chair Paul Rusk. Proposed in Dane County Resolution 556, the study would explore racial disparity and mental health in the county’s jail system, as well as problems with solitary confinement and alternatives to incarceration. Many of the protesters believe expansion of Dane County’s jails would perpetuate racial disparities in the Dane County’s justice system and divert money from programs that could address the roots of Madison’s racial issues. “You have the authority and power to put into place practices and programs and studies that focus on diverting people from police contact,” Upchurch said. “If you do not do that and invest in jail and not community and root causes, then you go from foregoing the problem to perpetuating the problem.” “What we need to do is look at the rest of the resolution and invest in our city, invest in our people [and] invest in
this county. When we invest in people, we always get a return,” Braunginn said. Many of the protesters commented on rumors of a new jail, a rumor that stems from a similar study that inspired a new jail proposal in 2014. Debate over that new jail was halted earlier this year, with officials citing public protests as the reason. “If you build a jail, somebody will fill them,” said Ernestine Moss, a resident of Madison for 43 years. “We don’t need more jails. We need more schools, we need more early childhood education facilities and teachers, and we also need … educators and professionals that can help remedy the problem … not build the problem.” However, according to Rusk, a new jail isn’t in the works. “The proposal that we have … is basically to look at options for how to fix the [Dane County jail],” Rusk said. “I don’t think a new jail is going to happen.” The committee is trying to address the issues protesters
protesters page 3
UWPD confiscates hundreds of stolen bicycles, pursues pressing charges After a 10-month-long investigation, the UW-Madison Police Department is seeking charges against two men for stealing hundreds of bicycles around the Madison area, Chief Susan Riseling said at a news conference Tuesday. UWPD received four search
warrants to recover 600 bicycles in an apartment and storage units in Madison, a bike shop in Muscoda and a farm in the city of Windsor. Riseling said while no arrests have been made yet, UWPD is in the process of charging Duane J. Tessmer of Madison and Michael
“We want more!”
J. Bingen of Muscoda for possession of stolen property. “They’re currently not in custody, and we will continue to work with the Dane County District Attorney’s Office to figure out exactly what the charges will be,” Riseling said.
+ SPORTS, page 8
Dedicated hockey fan Phil Dzick loyal to Crease Creature fanbase
Riseling said UWPD received an inside tip through a letter from an individual that led officers to investigate the two men. Police officers confiscated the bicycles from the locations and started returning the bikes to their original owners by cross-
checking serial numbers with a stolen bike database. UWPD encourages all bicycle owners to record the serial number of their bicycle and contact officers if they believe their bike was stolen. —Ellie Herman
LINE BREAKS FESTIVAL
First Wave’s upcoming festival will showcase vast artistic talent + ARTS, page 5
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”