Madison, Wisconsin’s police chief isn’t so happy about Gov. Scott Walker’s joking around with a caller who he thought was billionaire Republican donor David Koch. In his conversation with a reporter pretending to be Koch, Walker said that he had “thought about” planting troublemakers in the crowds outside the state’s capital to discredit pro-union protesters. Police Chief Noble Wray told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
“I would like to hear more of an explanation from Governor Walker as to what exactly was being considered, and to what degree it was discussed by his cabinet members. I find it very unsettling and troubling that anyone would consider creating safety risks for our citizens and law enforcement officers,” the chief said.
“Our department works hard dialoging with those who are exercising their First Amendment right, those from both sides of the issue, to make sure we are doing everything we can to ensure they can demonstrate safely. I am concerned that anyone would try to undermine these relationships. I have a responsibility to the community, and to the men and women of this department - who are working long hours protecting and serving this community – to find out more about what was being considered by state leaders.”
The police chief’s remarks come the day after a deputy attorney general in Indiana was fired for encouraging the use of violent force on the Wisconsin protesters.
h/t Think Progress