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AG Schimel: DOJ Needs More Funding For Police Shooting Investigations

Robinson Case One Of Several Probes Being Handled By DCI

By
Gilman Halsted/WPR

The officer-involved shooting death of Tony Robinson in Madison last Friday is one of nine such incidents the state Division of Criminal Investigation has had to handle since passage of a new law requiring independent investigations in these cases.

But Gov. Scott Walker has denied the state Department of Justice’s request for more money to do that kind of investigative work.

Attorney General Brad Schimel said the increased workload is something the department tried to prepare for when it asked for more than $700,000 over the next two years covered by the upcoming state budget. That money was earmarked for hiring more staff to investigate officer-involved shootings.

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“The events nationwide in the latter part of 2014 have been part of what we’re anticipating here,” Schimel said. “Things have changed. When the law went into place, more law enforcement agencies simply decided they were going to turn to DCI … more than was anticipated initially.”

Schimel said the governor’s decision not to fund the new positions is just the first step in a long budget review process that won’t be final until the state Legislature votes on the budget this summer.