Attorney General Garland meets with Wisconsin officials

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The Federal Courthouse in Milwaukee was packed with more law enforcement officials than on a normal Tuesday, as U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland gathered with state, local and federal law enforcement leaders.

Among those leaders in attendance, U.S. Attorney Gregory J. Haanstad for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, FBI Milwaukee Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Michael Hensle, Wisconsin Department of Justice (WisDOJ), Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Administrator Tina Virgil, and chiefs of police from Milwaukee and Shorewood to Greenfield and Wauwatosa. Leadership from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Homeland Security, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)  were also present.

Before officials met in closed doors to discuss strategies to combat crime in Wisconsin, both Haanstad and Garland provided opening remarks to the news media, including the Wisconsin Law Journal.

Haanstad introduced Garland noting Garland’s previous “distinguished” experience as a Federal Court of Appeals judge and various roles in the Justice Department “where he oversaw some of country’s most significant investigations and prosecutions.”

Haanstad said Garland plays a crucial role in an overall national law enforcement strategy to “keep the country safe, promote the rule of law, and protect the civil rights of all Americans.”

Garland said he traveled to Wisconsin to meet with prosecutors and law enforcement leaders, “who are working together every day as partners in confronting violent crime and protecting the citizens of Wisconsin,” noting that partnerships with state and local law enforcement are critical to combatting crime.

Garland also noted the collaboration with local, state and federal law enforcement has seen progress through the deployment of the next-generation of technology.

Officials noted the Milwaukee Police Department’s recent release of “promising data,” citing a 10 percent drop in overall crime in the city of Milwaukee from this year to last.

There has been a “39 percent drop in homicides (in Milwaukee),” Garland said, noting the time frame compares the first quarter of 2024 to the first quarter of 2023.

According to Garland, although there has been a drop in violent crime notable across 40 American cities, “progress may be uneven in many communities.”

“Of course, there is no level of violent crime that is acceptable. That is why this office is not relaxing its efforts and continuing to pursue investigations and prosecutions to help keep the people of Wisconsin safe,” Garland added.

Garland then provided specific examples of successful prosecutions, ranging from pharmacy robberies in Milwaukee to drug convictions out of the Fox Valley and Green Bay.

The Attorney General also noted that in one Fentanyl case out of Appleton, the defendant bragged, “There’s not a single pill in the (Fox) Valley that doesn’t have my name on it.”

Garland reaffirmed the government’s commitment to hold those responsible, accountable.

“The Justice Department is committed to breaking every link in the Fentanyl chain,” Garland added.