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Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke has become something of a firebrand as he continually makes rounds on political talk shows espousing his strong conservative views. Standing in stark contrast to Sheriff Clarke’s Uncle Ruckus routine is Milwaukee Police Department Chief Edward Flynn, who is a white liberal trying to make sense of the violence ravaging the city.

The Los Angeles Times profiled both men in a compelling piece that showed not only how they came to their positions but also how far they stand apart in opposition. Clarke, a native of Milwaukee, likens the city’s unrest to black-on-black violence and blames the Black Lives Matter movement for inciting much of the tensions. On the other side, Chief Flynn believes in employing a more involved approach and working to understand the concerns of those in the community.

From the Times:

Clarke, a conservative, argues that downtrodden blacks are largely to blame for their own plight and that “black-on-black violence” is a bigger problem than mistreatment of blacks by police. In turn, he has taken a get-tough, lock-em-up approach to policing, including the use of military equipment.

He has blamed Flynn for increases in violent crime in Milwaukee, saying the city’s police force should hire more officers to crack down harder on crime. Clarke has also encouraged citizens to arm themselves.

Flynn, a liberal, sees the anger of the black residents as a product of poverty and decades of official neglect and believes the biggest gains will come from increased cooperation between officers and the community. He has belittled Clarke’s proposals and argued that allowing people to carry concealed weapons has increased deaths from gun violence.

The city is still reeling in the aftermath and riots sparked by the police-involved shooting for Sylville Smith. Police say that Smith, 23, was armed and raised his weapon at officers before he was gunned down after feeling on foot after a traffic stop.

The mistrust between Black citizens and police has made it extremely difficult to quell the divide and Clarke’s seemingly anti-Black stances have not been helpful.

Read the rest of the Los Angeles Times‘ well-crafted piece by following this link.

Photo: screen cap