Aug. 30, 2021 11p
(WGTD)---A Kenosha City Council committee voted unanimously Monday night against re-instituting a mask mandate in Kenosha. Also finding no traction was a proposal to create a citizen committee to study and recommend new crowd control tactics to the police department in light of last summer's protests and riots.
The measures--both authored by Alder Anthony Kennedy--drew dozens of citizens, some of whom packed a poorly-ventilated meeting room without social distancing. Others stood in line outside of the room waiting their turn to speak before the Public Safety and Welfare Committee, then left. Few attendees wore masks.
Kennedy said he proposed a return to mandatory masks in most public place as one way of trying to head off a continuing surge in the coronavirus. But most citizens who spoke on the topic opposed the idea, making familiar arguments. On occasion, tempers flared and committee chair Rocco LaMacchia had to gavel back the meeting to order.
During committee debate, LaMacchia suggested that many masks that he sees being worn are useless in preventing the spread of the disease. "If you want to wear a mask you have to wear the right mask otherwise you might as well put your own underwear over your face. And I don't mean that funny--I mean that seriously," he said. On the other hand, LaMacchia said employers and businesses have a right to mandate that masks be worn in their establishments.
Most public health professionals say that mask-wearing does diminish the spread of the virus.
Addressing the committee, Kennedy asked that his proposal be deferred because he wanted to include language nullifying the order if the city's vaccination rate hit 70%. Currently, less than half of the county's population is fully vaccinated. But the committee voted 3-2 against deferral, paving the way for the ordinance to be shot down altogether, although the full city council will have the final say.
Afterward, Kennedy said he had lost support among his colleagues and didn't think the ordinance would pass the council.
Kennedy's use-of-force proposal didn't fare any better. The measure would create a citizen committee to study and recommend to the police department alternatives to the use of rubber bullets and tear gas, and then have the police department make its own set of recommendations.
Acting Police Chief Eric Larsen spoke against the measure, saying the department is constantly reviewing new strategies and the latest trends but is bound to follow state-mandated use-of-force guidelines.
Said Alder Eric Haugaard: "I'm not a law enforcement professional. But I know some that are. I trust them. And my judgment is going to coincide with their recommendations. Not some people who think they know more than these people know."
About a half-dozen citizens spoke in support of the proposal, many of whom were among the Jacob Blake protesters and witnessed first hand how the demonstrations evolved.
Kyle Flood accused police of escalating the violence by making poor tactical decisions. He specifically mentioned an incident in which two juveniles were setting off fireworks near a police line. "Instead of grabbing these two kids that are launching fireworks, the tear gas got thrown. The rubber bullets got shot. And you know what happened within two minutes of that? The first garbage truck went up in flames."
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