By Kim McDarison

Whitewater served Friday as host to a roundtable discussion and news conference organized by Sen. Ron Johnson and Rep. Bryan Steil, both Republicans, regarding, according to a media advisory shared with Whitewater city officials, the “impact of illegal immigration in Wisconsin.”

Whitewater Police Chief Dan Meyer said interest from the two Wisconsin officials to learn more about impacts associated with changing demographics in Whitewater, he believed, stemmed from a phone conversation he had last month with Walworth County Sheriff Dave Gerber about challenges facing law enforcement agencies and their impacts to the county’s communities. Shortly after the conversation, he said, he and Gerber made a presentation on the subject to members of the Republican Party of Walworth County, which, he noted, attracted the attention of staffers in Johnson’s office, prompting them, he noted, to make arrangements with local officials to host a roundtable discussion and press conference at the Whitewater Municipal Building.

Following Friday’s discussions with Johnson, Steil, and other law enforcement leaders arriving in Whitewater, Meyer, responding to questions posed by WhitewaterWise, said his goal was to bring awareness to the demographic changes and the challenges to law enforcement they bring and not to politicize the issue. He said that he hoped in the future to make statistically based presentations similar to the one made last month in Elkhorn, to a wide range of groups.

“I would like to speak with a Democratic group as well. This is not a one-sided issue,” he said.

Citing Friday’s discussions, he said: “My interest in being a part of this is to make the situation better.”

Meyer said that while he believed there “is some illegal immigration happening,” his preference is to focus on “demographic change.”

“There are many issues impacting us locally and we have an influx of people from Central America, and that is impacting us and how we provide public safety,” he added. 

He said he believed people likely were aware of issues created by changing demographics in large cities, but he said, he was not sure that they understood the impacts happening is smaller cities like Whitewater.

Comparing Whitewater to a larger city, he said, when addressing demographically based issues, “Here, locally, we don’t have the pool of resources to draw from.”

He added: “None of this is meant to vilify people,” but, he said, he believed community members needed to become more aware of challenges faced by the city’s police department so they can make informed decisions, asking: “Where do we go with public safety?”

During Friday’s press conference, Meyer said, along with Johnson, Steil, and members of their staff, those seated in the Community Room at the Whitewater Municipal Building before a small group of invitation-only members of the media, included himself, Walworth County Undersheriff Tom Hausner, Walworth County Sheriff Dave Gerber and Kenosha County Sheriff David Zoerner.

During the roundtable discussion, which took place in a conference room within the municipal building and did not include media, the group further included Waukesha Sheriff Eric Severson, and Capt. Adam Vander Steeg and School Resource Officer Michele Martin, both of the Whitewater Police Department. The group included about 10 people, Meyer said.     

WhitewaterWise was not among those invited to attend the press conference, nor was our request to attend accommodated. Four Whitewater Common Council members, which constituted a quorum, were in attendance. City officials, responding to questions posed by WhitewaterWise, noted that while they were not organizers of Friday’s events other than to respond to a request from Johnson’s office to make use of space within city hall, they did ask city council members if they planned to attend. Three responded in the affirmative, and one later said they could not attend, making city staff unaware that a quorum would be present until the event was underway, both City Manager John Weidl and Whitewater Chief of Staff Taylor Zeinert told WhitewaterWise. 

The press conference aired on the city’s public access channel and a video of the event was posted online shortly after it concluded. 

During the roundtable discussion, Meyer said participants shared detailed statistical information and additional information, which he described as “more confidential” about the enforcement of drug-related crimes.

Meyer said that he found Friday’s discussion and conference beneficial, “in that it increased public awareness of this issue.”

Addressing politicized aspects of the press conference, he said, “I don’t see it as productive.”

He added: “Law enforcement is a slice of this issue.”

He described “a holistic approach,” when addressing issues facing many of the community’s residents, citing health-related nonprofit organizations and the Whitewater Community Space as invaluable and appreciated partners.

“I still believe Whitewater is a safe place to live, but the public needs to be aware. We need more cops,” he said, noting that the force has become limited in its ability to enforce laws proactively.

Within the community, he said, “people don’t trust law enforcement, so they don’t call us unless it’s a serious issue.”

Additionally, he said, the force is not reducing crime through proactive work at the same level it has in past years.

Meyer said that while he is hopeful the city may do a study to help determine a best approach to solving some of the enforcement issues, he believed the addition of at least four more officers, which, he said, would equate to one per shift, would be helpful.

Making decisions about changes in manpower, he said, “it’s a difficult thing to measure. At the end of the day, it comes down to — it’s a very complicated thing to know what the right number is.”

Describing the discussion brought by demographic changes, he said: “This whole thing is very uncomfortable. These are very polarizing topics, but I’m willing to feel uncomfortable because to avoid the issue isn’t going to fix anything.”

An earlier story, outlining issues associated with policing in Whitewater, and the department’s ability to engage in proactive policing, is here: https://whitewaterwise.com/whitewater-police-chief-presents-council-with-concerns-regarding-departments-ability-to-serve-proactively/.

A story sharing statements offered by a six-man panel appearing in Whitewater Friday to discuss immigration issues is here:  https://whitewaterwise.com/johnson-steil-hold-press-conference-in-whitewater-discuss-immigration-border-security-initiatives/.