WISCONSIN — Defund the Police has been a talking point in lots of campaign attack ads but is it rhetoric or reality?
The call to defund police grew loud and strong during protests after the murder of George Floyd while in police custody in 2020.
Republican Rebecca Kleefisch, who is running for governor, made this claim about efforts to defund the police:
"At a meet and greet a few weeks back she claimed that Democratic Governor Tony Evers is a big proponent of this defund the police movement," said Greg Borowski with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Let's dig into this claim.
PolitiFact Wisconsin says Kleefisch's team never got back to them when asked to back up her 'big proponent' claim about Evers.
So, what has Evers said about police funding? PolitiFact Wisconsin says Evers backed police departments taking a closer look at how they use force but opposed slashing funding.
"He has said that most law enforcement officers are in the profession for the right reason, that he couldn't support the idea of completely disassembling police in the state or Milwaukee," said Borowski.
Two other key points:
PolitiFact Wisconsin says Evers vetoed a Republican-backed bill that would have cut state aid to local municipalities if they reduced police budgets.
Evers has also used pandemic relief money to help local law enforcement efforts.
"Evers has spent nearly an additional $100 million to support police and law enforcement and that undermines the claim to," said Borowski.
