Email from a Constituent Expressing Concern About the Independent Monitor's Office

Hi Everyone,

This morning I received a thoughtful email from a constituent. I'm sharing portions of it below. I strongly concur. The threat to "burn this f*cking city down" by a city employee is outrageous and literally inflammatory. What followed is not surprising, the setting of five dumpster fires and threats to burn down entire buildings.

The escalatory rhetoric must stop. It's gone too far and is not productive, but rather spurs conduct that no longer in any way resembles protected speech and non-violent civil disobedience. 

Here is the email:

"I'm writing as a Madison resident, though of course not one who lives in the Marquette neighborhood. I am someone who believes what has happened there over the past few weeks is indicative of a citywide problem, and I'm deeply frustrated....

The shooting of Corey Ruiz is a tragedy, however, the circumstances make it deeply complicated and require a serious, fact-based investigation. That investigation should happen, in full....

I'm also frustrated by the conduct of some elected officials on the Council who have, in my view, continued to stoke this situation rather than push for de-escalation—lending legitimacy to a narrative about the shooting that presumes an outcome well before any real investigation has concluded.

But my central concern is with the Office of the Independent Monitor, specifically Aeiramique Glass. The city pays her roughly $150,000 a year to provide police oversight. What I've observed over the past several months instead is an official who has repeatedly positioned herself as an adversary of the Council and city leadership: releasing a 31-page memo in April attacking alders and the city attorney, threatening to sue the city, and telling the Council directly that she didn't believe she could work with them.

This week, drone footage released by MPD appears to show her in a physical altercation with an officer following efforts to clear the encampment, and a separate video shows her afterward, with an injured hand, saying she will "f*cking burn this city down." That is not the conduct of a neutral overseer. It's the conduct of an activist, and I don't believe the city should be funding activism with taxpayer dollars, especially when it actively interferes with police operations during an already volatile moment. No public employee should be allowed to keep their job after a declaration like this.

To be clear, I support real police oversight. What I don't support is an oversight office run by someone who appears to have already reached conclusions about a complex shooting and is using a taxpayer-funded platform to pursue them. Ms. Glass, or anyone else, is free to peacefully advocate for causes they believe in however they want, but not on the city's payroll. The Council's decision this week to withdraw the proposed reporting-requirement amendments for the Office of the Independent Monitor—apparently after pressure from the very oversight board that hired her—does not give me confidence that anyone with real authority is willing to hold this office accountable.

In writing today, I express my hope that you will advocate for three things:

1. A serious, professional, and genuinely independent investigation into the shooting itself, one insulated from the current political theater.

2. A formal review of Ms. Glass's conduct, including this week's incidents, with real consequences if warranted, up to and including removal from her position.

3. Reintroduction of the transparency and reporting requirements pulled from this week's agenda, so this office actually answers to someone.

The city needs a real reckoning with how these past few weeks were handled, not just the shooting, but the prolonged disruption to Marquette residents and the conduct of the people entrusted with parts of the response, including the Independent Monitor's office. I hope you'll pursue that.
 

I will be adding my own thoughts in the days to come.

Take care and stay safe,

Tag