The Wisconsin Attorney General recently said in a legal memorandum that state law permits residents to openly carry a weapon in public, but the Police Chief in Milwaukee doesn’t care what the law says:

[S]ome law enforcement officials are preparing to face more open-carry situations, and some are clear the memo won’t change their approach. Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn said he’ll continue to tell officers they can’t assume people are carrying guns legally in a city that has seen nearly 200 homicides in the past two years. “My message to my troops is if you see anybody carrying a gun on the streets of Milwaukee, we’ll put them on the ground, take the gun away and then decide whether you have a right to carry it,” Flynn said. “Maybe I’ll end up with a protest of cowboys. In the meantime, I’ve got serious offenders with access to handguns. It’s irresponsible to send a message to them that if they just carry it openly no one can bother them.”

So, in Flynn’s world, the mere fact that you’re doing something that you’re authorized to do under the law is reason enough for the police to forcibly detain you on suspicion that you might be a criminal.

Can anyone say police state ?

Glenn Reynolds wonders if Flynn would appreciate his own logic being applied to him:

[I]f you see Police Chief Ed Flynn, put him on the ground, take his wallet away, and then decide whether he’s accepted any bribes that day. If, after doing that, you think the money’s his, give his wallet back. Who cares what the law says? It’s the Milwaukee Way!

Apparently.

H/T: Radley Balko