Kenosha Reporter

Kenosha Sheriff David Zoerner was recently sworn in as the county’s top cop. 

Zoerner is a veteran of the Kenosha Sheriff’s Office with a wide breadth of experience. He ran on the “Make Kenosha County Safe Again” referring to the BLM riots the area experienced in 2020. 

“Liberal leadership failed Kenosha during the 2020 riots," Zoerner said on his campaign page. "David was on the job for twenty hours a day defending Kenosha against rioters as the city burned. He believes the poor communication and lack of implementation of emergency resources was nothing short of shameful.” 

Zoerner, a 53-year-old Sergeant in the Kenosha Sheriff’s Office who lives in Pleasant Prairie, ran on a platform of a safer community. He was endorsed by the Kenosha County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, The Republican Party of Kenosha County, Racine County Sheriff Chris Schmaling as well as several local police chiefs. Zoerner addressed the 2020 riots in a Q&A with West of the I. “Home invasion should never have been a present fear for the citizens of Kenosha County, but the riotous behavior and destruction of recent years as well as the establishment of our county as a drug trafficking corridor has caused a spike in such crimes,” Zoerner told the publication. “These criminals that prey on our families must be made aware that Kenosha County is not soft on crime, we embrace a multi-jurisdictional team so there is no escape, and our officers are exceptionally well-trained and committed to stopping them.  I will staff the patrol and detective divisions appropriately, and we will continue to pursue these cases with every resource available to bring these criminals to justice. Residents on both sides of the I must be allowed to feel safe in their own homes.”

Zoerner is not alone in his stance that the state’s Democrat leadership did nothing to prevent or stop the Kenosha riots. “I felt like he did nothing to help us,” Kenosha resident Brooke Ohl told The New York Times of Democrat Gov. Tony Evers. “I’m sure he’s a very nice man. But he should have gotten us some more help.”

In the Nov. 8 election, Zoerner faced Democrat James Simmons. Zoerner received over 56 percent of the vote with 36,991 votes to Simmons’ 28,318 votes with over 43 percent. Zoerner replaces David Beth, who served as Sheriff for over two decades. He previously challenged Beth electorally twice.

Zoerner was officially sworn in as Kenosha Sheriff on Jan. 4. “I'm thrilled to stand before you today. I'm enthusiastic for being here and focused on the future of public safety in our community. I look forward to working with all of you,” Zoerner said at his swearing-in ceremony, according to WLIP.