In studio, La Crosse asst. chief talks of law’s need to apologize for past

Will police someday apologize for enforcing marijuana laws?

Comments made at a police chief’s conference this week still resonate among some in the profession.

La Crosse assistant police chief Rob Abraham was at the International Association of Police Chief’s conference in San Diego when the president of the group, in a speech, apologized for police enforcement of laws in the past that targeted communities of color. 

“There’s no getting around it or denying it,” Abraham said Wednesday from the WIZM studio. “There were laws, back during segregation, that police officers had to enforce and, when you look back on them today, were completely wrong and unfair and unjust.”

But Abraham says he and all police have a duty to enforce the laws on the books. 

“When Wisconsin legalizes marijuana, if they ever do, am I going to apologize for enforcing marijuana?” Abraham asked. “No. It was the law at the time. The law is the law and we’re sworn to enforce the law.”

Abraham believes most police would like to move forward from racial conflicts that have led to riots in some cities.  

“Police, in general, are saying, ‘OK, let’s move the story along, let’s move on, let’s repair things, let’s make things better,’ ” Abraham said.

Abraham agrees that police would like to mend relationships but he also believes much of what police are under fire for in racial disputes in the nation are stories driven by national media hype.