Mike Pence Visits La Crosse, Addresses Call To Defund Police: 'Not Now, Not Ever'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) -- Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris made her first campaign appearance in battleground Wisconsin on Labor Day in Milwaukee, while Vice President Mike Pence headed to western Wisconsin.
The dual appearances by Pence and Harris come just days after President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden were in Kenosha two days apart. Wisconsin is one of a few swing states that Trump won by less than a percentage point in 2016.
Pence spoke about jobs and law and order at the Dairyland Power Cooperative in La Crosse. While there, he addressed the call to defund police.
"We will always stand with those who serve on the thin blue line of law enforcement. We're not going to defund the police. Not now, not ever," Pence said.
The vice president says cases involving use-of-force will always be thoroughly investigated. But says there is no excuse for the rioting and looting in Kenosha, and in cities across the county.
"Rioting and looting is not peaceful protest, and burning businesses is not free speech, and those who do so will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of he law," he said.
Meanwhile, his opponent was visiting Milwaukee. Sen. Harris met with union and Black community leaders before meeting with the family of Jacob Blake, who was shot by police in Kenosha last month. Blake is paralyzed from the waist down after the encounter.
READ MORE: Jacob Blake Speaks To Public For First Time Since He Was Shot By Police Officer
"I mean, they're an incredible family," Harris said. "What they've endured, they just do it with such dignity and grace. You know they're carrying the weight of a lot of voices on their shoulders."
The officer who shot Blake is on administrative leave during the investigation.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)