Caffeinated Politics

Madison Police Chief John Patterson walked into the worst kind of afternoon on Wednesday. A single moment on Williamson Street where a man is killed by police gunfire leaves a neighborhood shaken (a few blocks from where I live), and the chief left holding the weight of emotions of a city that demands answers faster than facts can be gathered. We do not need to know the chief personally or have any connection to the situation that played out to realize that this is an outcome no police leader wants, and yet it’s exactly the one that defines whether the badge is merely worn or truly carried. Hear me out, now.

Patterson, to his credit, has never been the swaggering, chest‑out caricature of law enforcement that cable news loves to parade around. He’s a listener. A steady presence. A man who understands that transparency isn’t a buzzword. In the past, I have likened him on Caffeinated Politics to the type of guy we would want as a neighbor to be invited for a backyard barbecue.

Today, he was thrust into what will become a national narrative that he didn’t write but must now navigate. As I was at the scene of the shooting about 90 minutes after it occurred, there was already ample evidence of activists working to make this horror into a broader story about mistrust of law enforcement, police misconduct, racism, and the relationship between officers and the communities they serve. I am not picking sides in this paragraph but merely framing the clear context from which Patterson now needs to walk.

Madison is well-versed in that narrative. Patterson knows that. He knows that people aren’t just reacting to this shooting; they’re reacting to all of them. The ones here. The ones across the country. The ones that have left families grieving and cities marching. He knows that the badge carries history, and not all of it is noble.

That is why I am glad, at this time and in this place, John Patterson is our Police Chief. He has a strong character and is a good man.

He doesn’t hide behind press releases crafted to say nothing. He doesn’t retreat into the bunker. He steps forward. His body language at the press briefing on Wednesday afternoon was as convincing as the words and the emotion he imparted to the city. He acknowledged pain. He acknowledged anger. He knows that the police are not above the people they serve, and that accountability is not optional.

That matters. It doesn’t fix everything, but it matters. A lot.

Patterson is a good leader placed in an awful situation, trying to guide a department through a moment that will test every ounce of its integrity. He surely did not choose the course of action that played out today, but he did choose how to respond. Like a leader.

Madison now needs to stand shoulder to shoulder with him.