Sen. Taylor cited for disorderly conduct
State legislator allegedly had dispute with bank teller; police supervisor says citation being reviewed
Wisconsin Sen. Lena Taylor was cited for disorderly conduct for allegedly berating a bank teller, but an attorney for the Milwaukee Democrat is seeking to quash the citation.
Vincent Bobot said Taylor was given a civil citation Friday by a Milwaukee police officer on the scene but was later told by an unnamed supervisor in the Police Department that the citation was being reviewed. A spokeswoman for Milwaukee police has made no comment on the incident.
“I think it’s on hold, the way I understand it,” Bobot said of the citation.
The citation will be reviewed by the office of Milwaukee City Attorney Grant Langley. Bobot said he was seeking to resolve the matter by reaching out to Langley, who did not return a phone call seeking an interview.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has made an open records request for any video or incident report related to the citation.
The incident was first reported by WISN, which said Taylor had used a racially charged epithet during a dispute with a teller at the Wells Fargo Bank branch on Wisconsin Ave.
Bobot, who was on vacation in Tucson, Ariz., said he could not confirm or deny whether Taylor had used a racial slur to address a fellow African-American.
“That I don’t know,” Bobot said. “But I imagine we’ll find out very soon.”
The attorney confirmed that there was an incident between Taylor and a bank teller and that Milwaukee police, who were at the bank for another reason, took action after observing the dispute.
A spokeswoman for Wells Fargo Bank said she was unaware of the incident and would have to look into it before commenting. A spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse) also had no response to a request for comment.
This isn’t the first time that Taylor has been ticketed and then had the citation thrown into question.
In 2009, Taylor ripped into Milwaukee police officers who ticketed her for crossing the center line on N. 35th St. The police report from the incident said Taylor told officers “we ‘shouldn’t waste our energy for the stop and she can’t be expected to wait for the light.’ Taylor was very argumentative and appeared her intent was to provoke an argument with us officers.”
Soon afterward, the ticket was rescinded by a captain, only to be reinstated by then-Chief Edward Flynn. Taylor ultimately paid the $122 ticket.
Last summer, the Journal Sentinel also reported on high turnover in Taylor’s Senate office, noting that a halfdozen workers on her small staff had left, went on leave or both within a matter of months. That turnover came despite the fact that Taylor was playing a key role on the Legislature’s budgetwriting committee at the time.
Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke (R-Kaukauna) said in a Twitter post Monday that if true, Taylor’s use of a racial slur was unacceptable.
“The details emerging today paint a picture of reprehensible conduct by an elected official,” Steineke wrote.