Sept. 6, 2020 12:50p
(WGTD)---In defending his response to the Jacob Blake protests and subsequent riots, Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian said authorities did not anticipate the drawing power of the incident.
"I don't believe anyone anticipated that you were going to see the number of people on that second night coming in from the outside that you did," Antaramian said on WGTD's Community Matters Saturday. Over half of the people arrested in the aftermath of the shooting were from out of town.
He also said the National Guard got here as quickly as it could with the manpower that was available.
Calls were put in during the overnight hours after the protests developed, and the Guard's 125-member rapid deployment team was mobilized in the morning. "People keep on asking why were only 125 sent. That is the process in which the Guard reacts the first time. Then as time goes on we request more," he said.
The first night of unrest--when protesters torched vehicles that were used as barricades and then went on to smash downtown storefronts unchallenged--law enforcement personnel from neighboring communities responded to beef up the Kenosha Police Dept. and Kenosha County Sheriff's Dept. The Guard arrived the next day along with federal agents and dozens if not hundreds of additional personnel from law enforcement departments from around the state.
Antaramian was also asked about allegations from some protesters who believe that on Tuesday night local law enforcement purposely drove demonstrators into confrontations with armed individuals who ostensibly were standing guard over private property. "I'm not going to try to second guess what the sheriff and police chief and the Guard did," he said. "They did what they felt was necessary to do."
Just before two people were killed and a third wounded, authorities appeared to be trying to drive protesters away from the courthouse area and ultimately get them to disperse.
Evidence abounds that authorities underestimated the seriousness of the unrest.
An early-afternoon news conference on Monday was originally scheduled for Civic Center Park in the open air, then moved to the foyer of the Public Safety Building. When protesters broke down the front doors in a failed attempt to get in, the event was quickly moved to an interior room of the PSB.
In an interaction that was videotaped, Mayor Antaramian bravely stepped outside to try to talk to the protesters, but was interrupted several times then retreated to the PSB. "It didn't work as well as I had hoped,"Antaramian said. "But I think it was important for people to know that I was not unwilling to go out and talk to folks even in difficult decisions like that," he said.
The recovery process includes developing a framework to address a number of issues including racial inequality and injustice, police training, employment opportunities and finding ways to motivate young people and help them attain their potential. "We need to make sure we reach out specifically to young Black men, but all young people. There are too many young people who don't know where they're going," he said.
Anatramian said the process already had begun in the wake of the George Floyd death in Minneapolis and subsequent protests here, but has now been accelerated with help coming from the Dept. of Justice's Community Relations group.
As for the physical aspects of the recovery, it's the city's goal to remove the debris and wreckage as soon as insurance companies and law enforcement give the okay, Antaramian said. The city is also seeking to bring in the state Insurance Commission, and is trying to clarify how property owners and business people can access promised state and federal help.
Antaramian also commented on the Trump and Biden visits. He said he did not attend either event after calling on both to postpone trips to Kenosha.
Antaramian praised the community's response to the riots. "I'm grateful for what all these individuals have done. And I think it's remarkable that the community comes together and has taken a bad situation and tried to make it better by being there and supporting each other," he said.
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