Allison Geyer
District Attorney Ismael Ozanne acknowledged Friday that Genele Laird could have been disqualified from restorative justice court, but defended his decision to defer charges pending her successful completion of the program.
“I decided this was an appropriate case for an exception to be made,” he said at a news conference at the Dane County Courthouse.
Laird was jailed Tuesday night after resisting arrest at East Towne Mall, an incident that was captured on video and sparked outrage against the police use of force. Before being arrested, she had allegedly threatened a mall employee and security guards with a knife. She faced three felonies and three misdemeanors, including battery of a law enforcement officer, discharging bodily fluids, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct while armed.
Ozanne is recommending that Laird enroll in Dane County Community Restorative Court, an alternative justice program that moves offenders out of the formal court system and into a “harm reparation process.” His decision is based in part on the need to mend relations between law enforcement and the African-American community.
“Restorative justice is not a place for me to use to send a case to sweep things under the rug or to avoid making difficult decisions,” said Ozanne, who will face challenger Bob Jambois, a former district attorney from Kenosha, in the August primary. “It is a place for this community to work with its young people to build a more just and peaceful community.”
Laird’s charges will be dropped pending her successful completion of the program. If she fails to meet the requirements, Ozanne’s office is prepared to charge her. Ozanne declined to take questions from media, citing the possibility that his office may still need to file charges.
Ozanne told reporters he had been in contact with Laird’s attorney, Syovata Edari, who has indicated that Laird plans to accept the deal. While Laird meets many of the eligibility conditions for the restorative court -- her age, her lack of a prior record -- Ozanne said that her felony charge and the location where the crime occurred could have disqualified her from the program.
Caliph Muab’El, a member of the Black Leadership Council, decried Ozanne’s decision to offer restorative justice as “a political play” and blasted police for not taking responsibility for their actions. He believes that Laird, who spent two nights in jail, was unlawfully detained and that her charges should have been dropped unconditionally. He echoed many others, calling for review of police use of force policy and de-escalation techniques.
“Take away their blue suits and you’re talking about a hate crime,” he said. “They railroaded this girl.”
Madison Police Chief Mike Koval, who joined Ozanne at Friday’s press conference, emphasized that the decision to refer Laird to the restorative court was made at the request of Laird’s “victims” -- the individual she allegedly threatened at the mall, the mall security officers and the arresting police officers. He warned that the department would not always make such exceptions for individuals who choose to tangle with police officers.
“This is not the new normal,” he said.
Ozanne implored members of the community to be “grateful that despite Ms. Laird’s actions, her victims each made the decision that restorative justice made sense in this case.”
From the audience, one of Laird’s supporters audibly disagreed: “She’s the victim.”
