NEW YORK - A petition to stop former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke's keynote speech at a ceremony in New York has over 4,000 signatures.
Clarke was selected as the keynote speaker for the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police's ceremony on May 9 at the Capital Center in Albany.
Clarke is a former and controversial Sheriff of Milwaukee County. He served from 2002 to 2017.
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The organizers of the petition say they were "disgusted and outraged" when they found out David Clarke was chosen as the keynote speaker.
The petition states, "It is unacceptable to promote former Sheriff David Clarke as a role model or expert for law enforcement to emulate or initiate policy or practice, the opposite is true. There's no place for his bigoted vitriol. We call on you to rescind the invitation immediately and denounce his hateful, dangerous positions against the people you are supposed to serve."
Clarke's speech is to include "the preparedness of law enforcement in political protests and riots, and the impact of criminal justice reform in an era that has seen the rise of domestic political extremism including from groups such as Antifa and Black Lives Matter.”
The petition implies that Clarke's values do not align with the goals of community groups and political leaders in New York. According to the petition, people are outraged because these groups work to end mass incarceration, something that Clarke does not even recognize as existing.
For more information or to sign the petition, click HERE.
