Police union chief says Wisconsin GOP's proposal to detain missing Dems may be unconstitutional

By Greg Sargent

By now you may have heard that Republican state senators in Wisconsin have unanimously passed a resolution ordering missing Dems to return to the capitol or face possible detainment by police. The top senate republican justified this by claiming Dems had "pushed us to the edge of a constitutional crisis."

But the chief of a major Wisconsin police union tells me this proposal may itself be unconstitutional under state law.

"It's unclear to me on what constitutional authority Senate Republicans think law enforcement officers can take state lawmakers who have not committed a crime into custody," James Palmer, the head of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, told me by phone moments ago.

The GOP proposal would not allow for the arrest of the missing Dems, but would allow for lawmakers to be taken into custody by the Senate sergeant-at-arms if they don't return to the capitol by today at 4 p.m.

"I don't see how a sergeant-at-arms would have that authority," said Palmer, whose union represents all municipal police officers. "I don't see how any individual, law enforcement or otherwise, has the authority to detain another individual if there's no probable cause to suggest that he committed any crime."

Palmer's union endorsed Governor Walker's opponent in the gubernatorial election. But one local paper, the Wisconsin State Journal, also raised the possibility today that the move may be unconstiutional.

Palmer said that while his officers are exempt from Walker's rollback of bargaining rights, this latest act of overreach from Republicans would only increase solidarity between his members and other public employees.

"Most law enforcement officers tend to be a little more conservative, but they know the difference between right and wrong," he said. "This is going to backfire miserably. I am confident that the Republicans' actions today will make the Wisconsin law enforcement community even more supportive of wisconsin's public employees."

UPDATE, 5:21 p.m.: The GOP argument is that the state constitution allows each house of the legislature to "compel the attendance of absent members."

