August 26th 2:50pm
(WGTD)---After a press conference on Monday that got off to a rocky start when a group of angry residents stormed the Kenosha County Safety building and broke a door, Wednesday's event aimed to bridge a community divide. Here are some highlights:
KENOSHA IN TURMOIL - PRESS CONFERENCE LIVE TEXT BLOG: (August 26th, 2020) - Mayor John Antaramian -
- “It has been a devastating time for the community in Kenosha”
- ‘There are a lot of very good people in this community’ ‘Violence in the community is not acceptable. “Violence to people and violence to property is unacceptable”
- “I want to thank Ms. Blake, she came out and said “STOP."
- “The guard has continued its numbers in our community.”
- “We have called for a curfew to protect the public so people are off the street." “The curfew is not just to give tickets out to everyone, it's too protect the public.”
- “We will work with the minority community and we will make it a better place to live.”
- “We need to have honest dialogue.”
- “We are not planning on letting this violence continue in the community and we will resolve the racial issues in our community”
- “Governor Evers has been very supportive.”
- “FBI, US Marshals, and ATF are here. Everyone has been involved.”
- “A community is a only as strong as its weakest neighborhood.”
- “In response to the militia,we don”t need more guns on the street. Law enforcement is trained. We have faith that they will do their jobs.”
KENOSHA IN TURMOIL - PRESS CONFERENCE LIVE TEXT BLOG: (August 26th, 2020) - Sheriff David Beth
- "I would not deputize citizens." "Oh hell no." "Last night was the perfect example of why I wouldn't." "The man who killed two people could have been a part of the group that wanted me to deputize them." "There is no way that I would do that."
- "That is part of the problem with this group. People walking with guns cause confrontation." "It doesn't help us."
- “It got a little hairy out there on Sunday.”
- “I am proud of our Kenosha Police staff and stood in the face of rocks being thrown.”
- “To some people we are the bad people." “The court house represents justice and people are looking for justice."
- “We didn’t request the National Guard Sunday because our wires were crossed."
- “We had support from all across the state of Wisconsin.”
- “US Marshals and ATF brought technology.”
- “No one in law enforcement has any problem with peaceful groups protesting. We “Kneeled for Nine (to honor George Floyd)."
- “There was about $300,000 in damage to the (courthouse) campus the first night.”
- “We did not want to use tear gas but with the damage and what happened Monday, we had to do something.”
- “We will gladly support all peaceful protests up until 7:00pm.”
- “The people of Kenosha let law enforcement do our jobs last night. "They let us do a much better job than we could do Monday. They stayed home, moved their cars.”
- “We are going to be assertive if you don’t follow the curfew.”
- “Wednesday we have additional staffing coming from throughout the state.”
- “Kenosha...we are not accustomed to riots. We pulled knowledge from federal and state agencies.”
- “Some misinformation from the federal government. We received help from everybody.”
- “I don’t do social media. I don’t do Facebook. We do get information from those sources but there is a lot of misinformation”
- “We are working hard and we are getting better” “We aren’t going to be able to stop it all.. depends on the numbers.”
- “Some (outside people) come from the show” “They come from Green Bay, Illinois”
- “One of the invitations (rioters) looked like a party invitation.”
- Question to Beth: “How did the 17-year-old suspect walk right past police? Answer - "Radio traffic was non stop. People were screaming and chanting.” “I can picture on a whole bunch of reasons why”
- Question to Beth: “What about the deputies who tossed out water to members of the armed militia? Answer - Beth: “Our deputies would toss a water to anyone.” “I can’t tell you what one person did.”
- Question to Beth: “Thoughts on President’s Trump?” Answer - Beth: "Federal Troops have already been here." "They (Kenosha Residents) want them here. We will take whatever resources we can get."
KENOSHA IN TURMOIL - PRESS CONFERENCE LIVE TEXT BLOG: (August 26th, 2020) - Kenosha Police Chief - Daniel Miskinis
- “I think most people I’ve talked to agree, There maybe a need for police reform.”
- “I will take ownership of lack of media releases.”
- “Persons were shot. Everyone involved was out after the curfew. If everyone involved was not out, it might not have happened.”
- “A 26-year-old Kenosha Resident and a 36-year-old Silver Lake Resident has died”
- “A 17-year old is in custody.”
- “You’ll notice there is a theme here. There is a concern for those injured by police and other citizens and looting and violence."
- “We are committed to bringing a peaceful resolution.”
- “There are underlying issues that wont be fixed overnight.”
- “Kenosha residents are sad, scared, and confused but they are not violent."
- “We support peaceful protests. I support that personally.”
- “(Violence) Its not only bad for the community, it detracts from the message.”
- “Racial tension across the country and in the community need to be addressed."
- “Thankfully Mr. Blake is alive from the incident. The State of Wisconsin removes the agency involved in the use of force from the investigation."
- “The Kenosha Police become the people investigated. I support this policy. It adds transparency. We are cooperating.”
- “We are not behind a blue line of silence”
- “We do not want cops here that want to hurt people.”
- Question to Chief: Are the officers in the Blake case on leave? Answer- Miskinis: “Three officers are on administrative leave.”
- Question to Chief: “Does the Militia help you? Answer - Miskinis: I don’t want violence. Showing up with firearms doesn’t help from any group.” "No different than those on the other side."
KENOSHA IN TURMOIL - PRESS CONFERENCE LIVE TEXT BLOG: (August 26th, 2020) - Jim Kreuser - Kenosha County Executive
- “If you come from out of town and do harm you will be arrested and prosecuted."
- “State, Local, Federal government.. I am proud to see the team pulling together."
- “Stay home after curfew.”
KENOSHA IN TURMOIL - PRESS CONFERENCE LIVE TEXT BLOG: (August 26th, 2020) - Paul Knapp - Wisconsin National Guard
Question to Knapp -Did Governor Evers disapprove or refuse the implementation of the National Guard? Answer - Knapp: "That is not true."
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