Damakant Jayshi
Some members of the Wausau Policing Task Force on Wednesday questioned its own report that said the group did not find evidence of systemic racism in policing in the city.
The members were speaking at what was billed as a public hearing on the final recommendations made by the group. Mayor Katie Rosenberg and Task Force Chair John Robinson read the findings and the recommendations of the draft for review. Just two members of the public spoke during the hearing phase of the meeting.
The report was a culmination of 20 months of work that included public listening sessions, a public survey on policing in Wausau and focus groups hearings. Wausau engaged the Wisconsin Institute of Public Policy and Service (WIPPS) to conduct and coordinate these activities.
Early last month when the Task Force was debating whether to include phrases like “examining systemic racism and its impact on the community” and “participat(ing) in community dialogue about policing, human service needs, and systemic racism” under its tasks and objectives, police chief Benjamin Bliven strongly objected to adding any caveat on the topic. He pointed out that the Task Force had not looked into systemic racism or criminal justice system as a whole, which elicited a pushback from chair Robinson, saying the very reason the WPTF was formed was because of those concerns.
“Systemic racism,” or “institutional racism,” refers to how ideas of white superiority are captured in everyday thinking at a systems level: taking in the big picture of how society operates, rather than looking at one-on-one interactions.
These systems can include laws and regulations, but also unquestioned social systems, wrote Australian professor Mary Frances O’Dowd, in an essay published by The Conversation. Systemic racism can stem from education, hiring practices or access.
Late last month, some members of the city’s Liberation and Freedom Committee, an advisory body, questioned this aspect of the report as well. A number of LFC members said they believed that systemic racism does indeed exist in Marathon County and within the Wausau Police Department. Robinson invited LFC members to the May 18 public hearing to share their questions or concerns. No one from the LFC was present at the hearing.
During his presentations to each group Robinson made it a point to note that the WPTF did not find evidence of system racism in the Wausau police force. But he also always noted that the group lacked data on the topic. In the report, ‘No evidence of systemic racism’ is not followed by any such. caveat.
Speaking about his assessment of the report, member William Harris, addressed the topic.
“I want to make clear we are not saying systemic racism doesn’t exist. We are all part of the system, that enforces laws and other things that have impacts on people,” Harris said. “However, what we looked at was whether the policies and practices of this police department in terms of how they move forward, how those affect people and whether those policies are geared toward continuing or moving forward with some of those policies that are hurtful to some of the people that cause systemic issues, and that’s what we didn’t find evidence of.”
“There are disparity impacts. But that is a result of many issues that we discussed within our community. And those issues and gaps effect everyone, including the police department and how they do their role,” he said.
Harris, who is the chair of the Police and Fire Commission, a group that has direct oversight over police, said a large majority of the minority community in Wausau lives in poverty which may lead to more interactions with the police. Harris urged the community to take all aspects and factors into account instead of simply concluding, ‘Oh, the police may be racist in some way.’ He said the WPD has become more progressive, has achieved great accomplishments and is both transparent and accountable to the public.
After the public hearing phase, Harris said there might be the incorrect impression in the community that the Task Force was trying to punish the department.
Member Michael Klemp-North agreed with Harris’ explanation on having a nuanced understanding of systemic racism in policing.
“When we talk about systemic racism, when you review the document, you realize that law enforcement is one part of the system,” he said. “So we (were) tasked with looking at Wausau Police Department, and there is no clear evidence, but that systemic racism is built there. But the reality is they are one part of the bigger system…We all need to gather around on this and invest in the CART (Crisis Assessment Response Team) program, invest our efforts in the community to assist and aid the system in general – to overcome the challenges that we are seeing.”
Former Council Member Pat Peckham praised the police force, saying they already have many desirable policies and practices. But he also acknowledged that “the community is questioning our findings that we didn’t see any evidence of systemic racism in our police force” and that the community might feel there are bigots in WPD. He also noted that new officers are screened for “attitudes that we do not want to see in our police force,” though not every citizen is aware of that practice.
Peckham suggested addressing the issue at their final meeting on Monday, May 23. The Task Force is scheduled to meet on Monday to develop a plan of action for the City of Wausau and Marathon County.
(To read the draft report, click here.)
