On the grounds of the state Capitol in Madison stands a solemn stone memorial engraved with the names of 294 law enforcement officers. Each of them has given their life in the line of duty since 1848.
OPINION
Desecration of police memorial in Madison demands serious consequences | Jim Palmer
The Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial is more than granite and inscriptions. It is a sacred site where families, colleagues and citizens gather to remember, grieve and honor the dedicated men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice.
On June 14, during a protest on the Capitol Square, that sacred site was defaced with black spray paint carrying hateful and inflammatory messages calling for violence against law enforcement.
This was not, as some might dismissively suggest, a simple “property crime.” It was an intentional act designed to inflame hostility and inflict emotional pain on the survivors and families of the fallen. It was not just an attack on stone, but on the very values of public service and sacrifice.
The June incident marked the fourth time the memorial has been vandalized since 2017. And for the fourth time, those responsible are unlikely to face meaningful consequences. Instead, the Dane County District Attorney’s Office has referred the case to the Community Restorative Court. This diversion program may be appropriate for youthful indiscretions or first-time mistakes, but not for a calculated desecration of a sacred site dedicated to the state’s fallen heroes.
In prior cases of vandalism to the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial, the District Attorney’s Office recognized the memorial as a victim. This time, it did not.
That decision undermines the Wisconsin Constitution’s guarantee that victims have the right to be meaningfully conferred with in such cases, and this inconsistency raises serious concerns about transparency, victim rights and the equal enforcement of justice.
This is not an isolated “law enforcement” issue. Wisconsin has seen other acts of vandalism against historic monuments on the Capitol grounds. In 2020, demonstrators toppled and decapitated the statue of Col. Hans Christian Heg, an abolitionist who gave his life fighting slavery. Demonstrators also pulled down the “Forward” statue, a longstanding symbol of our state’s spirit.
Those acts were prosecuted. Restitution was ordered, and public resources were spent to restore the statues. But when hateful graffiti is sprayed across the Law Enforcement Memorial, the response has been strikingly different.
This disparity highlights a troubling double standard. All monuments and memorials — whether they honor abolitionists, public servants, veterans or law enforcement officers — deserve equal protection. Allowing some to be defended vigorously while others are treated as afterthoughts erodes confidence in fairness and undermines respect for the sacrifices that these sites are meant to honor.
Law enforcement officers and their families understand better than most that ours is a free society where the rights to free speech and protest are protected — even when those views are critical of government and police.
But vandalizing a memorial to the dead is not free expression. It is a crime. And when it is treated as little more than a nuisance, we devalue not only the memorial, but the sacrifices it represents.
This is why the state’s law enforcement community and the survivors of fallen officers are calling for the passage of Senate Bill 394 and Assembly Bill 401.
These companion measures would strengthen penalties for vandalism against historical and commemorative properties, including the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial. They would send an unmistakable message: that attacks on memorials — whether they honor law enforcement officers, abolitionists, veterans or victims of tragedy — will not be tolerated or trivialized.
Our state has a proud tradition of respecting the service of those who stand in harm’s way for the benefit of others. The Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial embodies that tradition. The officers whose names are etched into its stone did not hesitate when their communities needed them most, and the least we can do is protect the dignity of their memory with the seriousness it deserves.
We cannot continue down a path where such attacks are dismissed as minor offenses or treated as opportunities for diversionary programming. To do so dishonors the families who bear the lifelong grief of loss. It erodes public confidence in equal justice under the law, and it cheapens the respect we owe to those who gave their lives to protect the lives of others.
It is time for accountability. It is time to protect the memorial. And it is time for Wisconsin’s lawmakers to act.
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Palmer is the executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association.
