Wisconsin State Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs Connected Heavily to DHS

[midnight]

Today started like a normal day; I got up, got ready, and headed off to the Wisconsin State Capitol, three blocks away from home. When I got there, the rotunda was filled with singing. It is a joyous sound and one that can be heard at the Capitol every weekday from noon to one. Most days it is inside, with the exception being Fridays and times when school groups or community organizations have events in the rotunda. I have been to almost every one of these sing alongs and they have not missed a day for almost a year now. What started as just a few people singing some pro union songs, turned into a daily event drawing anywhere from 50-150+ people daily. Today I’d estimate there were about eighty people. When I got there, the first thing I noticed was a figure walking around in circles on the second floor. He is a man with whom the protesters and legislators both speak with on a near daily, if not daily, basis. It was Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs. As I approached the sing along I was told Tubbs just made an order. At the request of legislators he demanded the sing along discontinue. The sing along did not disband nor were any arrests made, but this was the first time the police requested we move because “the public hearing is disturbed”.

It is true, as activists, we frequently discuss Tubbs and what he may or may not be planning. Tubbs is a man who is often criticized by both sides of the aisle. It was Tubbs who decided that there would be no arrests during the original occupation. It is Tubbs who has been present and on the scene during a majority of the arrests since then. Tubbs will tell you he is just policing by his style but when he doesn’t talk is perhaps when he says the most. Case in point, during the “information sessions” when the Department of Administration announced new policies prohibiting groups of four or more from protesting without a permit, Tubbs remained largely silent, allowing his superiors at the DOA to provide most of the case. Throughout the struggle, Tubbs has made some good moves and some bad moves. On one side, it was Tubbs’ leadership that provided at least part of the peace we saw in February and March of 2011. The only reason we were able to have hundreds of thousands of people for over a month was that both the protesters and the police took steps to try to keep the peace.

It was during the original occupation of the Capitol that we had police liasons. Some of these people show up at protests here and there, but since the occupation, the police frequently talk to protesters and politicians alike. It is true the Capitol Police have largely been a community force and most of the job, at least of the unit in Madison, is community relations. Tubbs was appointed by Governor Jim Doyle in 2008. He now has a different Governor to serve as the Chief of Capitol police position falls under the DOA Secretary (Mike Huebsch- Former State Chair of ALEC) whose boss is the Governor. After the occupation, however, the Capitol Police switched their strategy from that of “no arrests” to one of obedience. The GOP decided, when the Capitol reopened, that there could only be protests on the ground floor. Tubbs stood by as this clearly unconstitutional policy was enforced. Finally, two people, myself and Valerie Walasek, a veteran from Florida who saw a video of mine, decided to defy the police with me. This was, in fact, the first time the police did anything more than simply requesting protesters change something.

The date was March 23, 2011 and Valerie and I stood with our sign over the First Floor railing. We were sure we would be arrested as that is what we were threatened with. Instead of arrest, however, they issued a ticket marking the first time officers had written protesters a ticket. The video can be seen here. There were no actual arrests at this point. Eventually we won the rotunda battle and moved to committee meetings and now galleries. Every free speech battle since, the numbers have multiplied and Tubbs has sat by and just told his officers to obey the Republican legislators. Knowing the arrests are unconstitutional, Tubbs takes the side of creating the least amount of turmoil. His boss is an appointee of the Governor so it would make sense why such a man would disobey his oath and not refuse orders to allow an unconstitutional arrest. But a look into Tubbs’ background turned up one article that had me thinking Tubbs presence at the Capitol, in the hotbed of political action, may very well have been set up.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/02/28/wisconsin-state-capitol-police-chief-charles-tubbs-connected-heavily-to-dhs/