Schmidt outlines office transition plan
Acting Milwaukee Co. sheriff asks for outside review of jail operations
Public safety, including that of all Milwaukee County Jail inmates, will be the No. 1 priority for acting Milwaukee County Sheriff Richard R. Schmidt as long as he holds the office, Schmidt vowed Tuesday.
However, no major changes to the sheriff”s office will be undertaken until his future is certain, Schmidt said at a news conference.
“Quite frankly, I don’t know what my tenure’s going to be,” Schmidt said.
After former Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. announced his resignation Thursday, Gov. Scott Walker said he would open up the application process for an interim replacement for Clarke.
Schmidt did say he would request the National
Corrections Institute to conduct a review of all operations at the jail, where six people have died since April 2016, including a newborn and a mentally ill inmate who died of dehydration in solitary confinement.
He also said that he ordered all budget accounts of the sheriff’s office to be frozen.
“I want to get spending back under control and do whatever we can to attempt to get the budget out of red ink,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt promised that the office would conduct all law enforcement actions with “excellence, high standards and accountability.”
“There will be a sense of urgency mandated in our organization to serve the citizens of Milwaukee County with courtesy and civility, second-to-none
customer service to protect the citizens of Milwaukee County,” Schmidt said.
He added that his office would hold law breakers accountable and “provide for the safe and appropriate care for the nearly 960 inmates in the
Milwaukee County Jail on a daily basis.”
Schmidt said he will continue to have patrols arrest intoxicated drivers and stop reckless driving on the Milwaukee County freeway system, and keep the lakefront safe and enjoyable.
Schmidt said he plans to meet Thursday afternoon with County Executive Chris Abele and budget director Steve Kreklow to work on a plan for a
balanced budget for the sheriff’s office, which he said currently carries a projected deficit for 2017 of about $5 million.
“Let me clearly state, public safety is my priority, and I will not jeopardize the citizens of Milwaukee County by foolishly cutting law enforcement services,“he said.
“However, any spending we can bring under control in the immediate future I will certainly implement.” Schmidt wouldn’t comment on problems at the jail nor make any changes to the facility until the Corrections Institute makes any recommendations.
He did say the jail “is being run extremely well“under Deputy Inspector Aaron Dobson, who was appointed jail administrator about six months ago.
On immigration, specifically Clarke’s application for Section 287(g) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act — which authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to deputize selected state and local law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration law — Schmidt said he would wait for approval by federal officials to take any action.
Schmidt would not say he whether he would apply for the position of interim sheriff, nor whether he would run as Democrat or a Republican.
Without mentioning Clarke’s penchant for communicating through social media or the former sheriff’s contentious relationship with traditional media, he did say he would be accessible, open and respectful toward reporters.
“I don’t Twitter. I’m not real good with Facebook,” Schmidt said.