Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. said it was obscene that a review board dismissed his suspensions of two sheriff’s deputies who handled security at a 2002 trial where shooting broke out.
Clarke said Thursday he issued the suspensions because the deputies took an unreasonable risk when they let defendant Laron Ball appear in court without a stun belt. Ball had previously threatened to steal a deputy’s gun and escape from court.
The county’s Personnel Review Board dismissed the cases against deputies Steven Gunn and Andrew Halstead on Tuesday, saying the county did not prove they violated the rules.
Ball, 20, bolted after he was found guilty of murder in May 2002, then stole weapons from two deputies, terrorized jurors, struggled with deputies and shot one of them. An off-duty Milwaukee police detective then shot and killed him.
The sheriff contends the bailiffs knew of Ball’s threats and were under orders to keep him immobilized in a stun belt during the trial.
The deputies have claimed the order was not clear.
Clarke said the review board undermined his attempts to hold deputies accountable and change a “complacent’’ culture in the department.
The sheriff also said he was dismissing a sheriff’s detective who was recently charged with obstructing an officer for allegedly lying about picking up a prostitute before he was robbed and locked in the trunk of his car.
Keith Anthony Barkster, 32, had been on paid leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation.