Say "No" to Riot Gear in Door County

Black Lives Matter Door County, with support of the community, is appalled and disappointed by this dramatic budget amendment on riot gear for the Door County Sheriff's Department. It is an especially egregious and unnecessarily antagonistic action, as it coincides with the largest civil rights movement the world has seen to date. A move to further militarize our local police force is completely tone-deaf to the times and sends an incredibly aggressive message to the People of Color who live within our community. In the midst of a global pandemic, concurrent with nation-wide calls to reduce police funding, this expense is excessive and unnecessary. It begs the question, "Why now?" Our money should be used to support our community in this difficult time, not further aggrandize our law enforcement. We do not approve and demand that this vote be postponed to give the citizens of this county time to research how and where their tax money could be spent more effectively.

Not only does Door County not need further militarization of our Sheriff’s Department, but we do not condone the use of riot gear if our local police are called into neighboring counties. This military grade weaponry only serves to escalate situations, while targeting U.S. citizens.

“The function of policing has gotten out of hand,” as County Supervisor (District 4) Kara Counard has said, “we want to refocus the county’s resources on expenditures such as mental health, social workers and community-based services,” de-escalation methods and reallocating funds to preventing crime at its source, “instead of a $10,000 increase for escalating tactics.”

The protests in Sister Bay & Sturgeon Bay that stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement have been peaceful and will remain peaceful, assuming that law enforcement does not escalate them. Along with standing in solidarity, we are respectfully asking that our local government pursue the goals of these worldwide demonstrations. We expect our elected officials to follow the lead of forward-thinking municipalities such as Minneapolis, in reallocating funds traditionally earmarked for weaponized law enforcement interventions. Our community would be better served by utilizing such funds to support drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs, worker advocacy and training curriculum, and educational after-school workshops, to name a few. To appropriately determine the best use of the tax-payers' reallocated funds, more time is certainly needed. We therefore request, again, that you postpone this needlessly rapid and questionable vote.