MADISON, Wis. — U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes Thursday released a series of law enforcement endorsements, which come amid conservative criticisms of his stance on law enforcement issues.
The coalition includes former Madison police officer and school board member Gloria Reyes, who said in a release Barnes is “dedicated to providing law enforcement the resources they need.”
Conservatives however, have criticized Barnes — tying him in ads to liberal members of Congress who have advocated for law enforcement reforms, including defunding the police.
Claims that Barnes wants to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were clarified in News 3 Now’s Reality Check series which found Barnes does not want to abolish ICE or defund the police, despite claims made in campaign ads.
RELATED: Reality Check: Barnes does not want to abolish ICE, despite ad claims
Those claims though are not a concern for retired Stevens Point police sergeant Paul Piotrowski, who is among the officers endorsing Barnes, and who sat down with News 3 Now.
“I have no fears, I believe that the lieutenant governor wants to make sure that police are appropriately funded and we have the resources we need to do our jobs,” he said.
Barnes has pushed for increasing funding for police training and having social workers support police responses.
“I know a lot of people think police are all conservatives — I know that’s not true,” Piotrowski said.
“The lieutenant governor definitely wants to make sure that everyone is safe,” he added. “I believe that funding and attacking those root causes of crime is a better way of addressing issues and helping police do their jobs.”
Barnes faces incumbent U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson in the November election. The Johnson campaign has been critical of Barnes’ policies.
In a statement, Johnson campaign senior advisor Ben Voekel said that “Mandela Barnes wants to let violent criminals out of prison,” alluding to a policy Barnes pushed for when he was running for lieutenant governor in 2018 to reduce the state’s prison population by half.
“Violent crime is continuing to surge in Wisconsin,” Johnson said in a tweet Thursday. “I will always stand with law enforcement to protect our communities.”
The full list of endorsers includes:
• Darlene Jenkins Ray, Retired Captain (Milwaukee, WI)
• Greg Thompson, Retired Police Officer (Milwaukee, WI)
• Paul Piotrowski, Retired Police Sergeant (Stevens Point, WI)
• Gloria Reyes, Former Police Officer (Madison, WI)
• Eddie Albritton, Retired Police Officer (Milwaukee, WI)
• Malik Frazier, Deputy Sheriff (Racine, WI)
• John Siegel, Police Captain (La Crosse, WI)
• Steven Madsen, Retired Police Officer (Racine, WI)
• Connie Cobb Madsen, Retired Police Officer (Racine, WI)
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
