Sheriff David Clarke Says Reason For Ambush Of Cops Is Criminal Justice Reform

Sheriff of Milwaukee County WIsconsin, David Clarke Jr. addresses the Republican National Convention at the Quicken Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, July 18, 2016

According to former Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke, the number of police officers being murdered in ambush style attacks is “staggering,” and the reason it continues to grow is because of criminal justice reform measures that allow folks who are career criminals to stay out on the street.

“Sixty officers killed in ambush attacks in 2021,” Clarke said during a chat with the hosts of Newsmax’s “National Report.” “You’re looking at a 130% increase in assault ambushes on law enforcement officers. Those are staggering figures.”

The comments he made concerning these attacks comes after the murder of Police Officer Richard Houston, who was a 21-year veteran on the force, who was killed while in the line of duty outside of a grocery store.

Clarke then went on to say that reform measures have left law enforcement weakened as they cause officers to “second guess themselves.”

via Newsmax:

Further, over-aggressive and political prosecutions of officers for incidents in which they should not be held criminally liable is causing police to hesitate on the scene, which Clark said is “very deadly.”

“There is a number of things that contribute to this, but the fact that this goes on tells me that the war on police is alive and well,” said the former Milwaukee sheriff.

The veteran lawmaker also spoke out about the smash-and-grab robberies that have been taking place across the nation and said he can’t believe police officers and business leaders aren’t forming task forces to fight back.

“What I would do is I’d get a combination of armed private security and off-duty law enforcement officers, armed in uniform,” Clarke went on to say. “You post them at the door, about a half dozen of these officers at the door. They’re armed with course, their sidearm, but they’re armed with pepper spray, they’re armed with tasers, they’re armed with collapsible batons or nightsticks. That would be a deterrent to these crews that come in. They’ll see it right at the door that this is not going to be tolerated.”

The former sheriff then stated that he isn’t sure why there’s so much “hand-wringing” over this issue.

“There’s a lot to be done,” he stated. “It’s basic stuff. But you need a plan. And I would say you know what? Shame on the police. Leaders who haven’t gotten together with the business community, the Chambers of Commerce, and saying Hey, look, we’ve got an idea.”