NEW BERLIN, Wis. – No Better Friend Corp. hosted the first stop on our ‘Backing the Badge and Building Bridges tour’ on April 24, 2021 and we had nearly 300 attendees join us for the event.
It’s no secret that law enforcement professionals are facing challenges across our state and nation. That’s why No Better Friend Corp. is hosting a series of events across the state where local law enforcement leaders will be able to directly address their communities about their challenges and the solutions to our problems.
Our featured speakers for our first stop in New Berlin included No Better Friend Corp. Volunteer President and CEO Kevin Nicholson, former Madison Police Chief, Mike Koval, former Milwaukee Police Chief, Alfonso Morales, Officer Dale Bormann, Jr. of the Milwaukee Police Association, Winnebago County Sheriff John Matz, Wisconsin State Senator Van Wanggaard, former Alderman Bob Donovan of the Milwaukee Common Council, Fond Du Lac District Attorney Eric Toney, and University of Wisconsin-Madison Political Science Professor Ryan Owens.
“Law enforcement is the guardian to our community. There is a nobility in serving,” said Former Madison Police Chief Mike Koval at the event. “We are, in many cases, the only advocate for those who are voiceless and for those who are most vulnerable.”
Our speakers made it clear that solutions to the plague of violence in our communities include better schools, less drugs, intact families, and economic growth – and not ‘defunding police.’
“When it comes to law enforcement defunding, I can speak to the Milwaukee Police Department: we’ve been defunded for 15 years – but we still get the calls and respond,” Former Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales said at the event. “The ones doing the work are the ones getting it done. I’ve lived it, worked it, and experienced it in Milwaukee.”
This stop on the ‘Backing the Badge and Building Bridges tour was the first stop of five. The next stop is taking place in La Crosse in May. You can read more about this stop in Wisconsin Right Now here and here and in Empower Wisconsin here.