Politics & Government

Police Presence Beefed Up for Rally in Walker's Wauwatosa Neighborhood

No reliable estimate of coming crowd can be made, police chief says.

Temporary no-parking signs are in place in the 500-600 block of North 68th Street of Wauwatosa, and police barricade are stacked and ready as needed for a Tuesday evening.

Wauwatosa police say no streets are being blocked off for the rally, which is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. with a gathering at the former Milwaukee Juneau High School, 6415 W. Mount Vernon Ave., followed by a march to Walker's block and petition signings at other homes in that block.

Four homeowners in the 500-600 block of North 68th Street of Wauwatosa display "Recall Walker" signs in their front yards, and two of those also have "Sign the Petition" signs. Organizers says those residents have agreed to have petition-signing tables put up on their properties.

State Patrol presence has been at least doubled, with no fewer than two patrol cars stationed across from Walker's home Tuesday afternoon, with other state cars coming and going throughout the day.

"We will have some people out there as well," said Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber said.

"Few people know it but city ordinance says that you can't picket one individual's house," Weber added. "We've talked to people along the street and told them that they may not have access or limited access to their properties. We hope that people will be as courteous and respectful as they have been in the past."

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Organizers have been spreading the word about the rally mainly by e-mail and social media such as Facebook. Weber said that Tosa police could make no reliable estimate of how large a crowd to expect.

Walker said Tuesday morning in Sturtevant that he didn't expect a greater police presence at his home because Wisconsin residents are respectful. However, he also said that if police were required, it would be because out-of-state organizers initiated the need.

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The governor also told Charles Sykes, a talk show host for Newsradio 620, that he was suprised protesters were going to his home.

"You see a total disregard for people’s families or others here,” Walker said. “Most people in Wisconsin would agree with that because no matter where you are in the spectrum … this is all about raw power.”

A spokesman for UniServe WinnebagoLand, a teachers union consortium in the Fox Valley area, said that 30 people had signed up for a sponsored bus ride from Oshkosh to Wauwatosa this afternoon for the rally, and others he knew of were driving.

At least three other buses were being sent from the region, he said, but he had no figures on how many riders had signed up for those.

One would-be petition-signer jumped the gun — arriving three hours before the rally was scheduled to being.

"I wanted to be one of the first to sign," said retired school teacher Christine Milad of Whitefish Bay. "I had business in Menomonee Falls and detoured here in hopes of signing, not realizing the tables don't go up until 4:30."

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