'We're here to celebrate law enforcement': JD Vance talks crime, safety in Kenosha

KENOSHA, Wis. (CBS 58) – For his third consecutive visit to Wisconsin, Vice Presidental Candidate JD Vance stopped by Kenosha to discuss public safety.

"We're here to celebrate law enforcement," Vance said as he greeted the crowd.

In the same place that riots erupted in August 2020 in Kenosha after the officer-involved shooting of Jacob Blake, Vance offered support for law enforcement.

"Wisconsin has suffered when you don't have good, smart pro-public safety leadership and that's what Donald Trump and I want to bring back to the White House. Backing the blue, supporting our police officers, and making sure that public safety is the birthright of every American citizen," Vance said.

One supporter who came out to see Vance in person tells CBS 58 the topic is very important to him, especially after the unrest four years ago.

"Being born and raised here, it really hurts to see famous places that have been around for decades and decades were burnt down," Kenosha resident John Hervat said.

The Ohio Senator and his surrogates called what happened in Kenosha a failure by Democratic Governor Tony Evers.

"As we saw four years ago this week, what happens when elected leaders refuse to stand with the men and women of law enforcement," Republican U.S. Representative Bryan Steil said.

During his speech, Vance outlined some of the "common sense" safety policies of a potential Trump-Vance administration, including supporting the death penalty for drug dealers and protecting police officers from lawsuits. The Kenosha County Sheriff's Department and the Kenosha Professional Police Association, support is one Vance said will help them Win Wisconsin and the White House.

"If we don't have public safety, we don't have anything. You can't build a business, you can't go to work, you can't take your kids on a walk in your neighborhood without public safety. Public safety is the foundation of having a good country," he said.