Watch: Gonzalez; Solis Confirmed To Racial and Ethnic Equity Commission

By Pete Serzant, WLIP News

KENOSHA, WI (WLIP)–The Kenosha County Board has approved two controversial appointments to the Racial and Ethnic Equity Commission.

The board narrowly approved retired Kenosha Police officer A. Brian Gonzalez and attorney Xavier Solis after much discussion.

Two points made against Gonzalez’s appointment centered on his fatal shooting of Michael Bell Jr in 2004 and his comments that seem to downplay racism in the county.

Supervisor Terry Rose led the charge on the first point, using a quote from Gonzalez’s book in which he likened shooting Bell to scoring a game winning touchdown.

When asked about the committee’s stated mission to dismantle racism in the county, Gonzalez got defensive and asked a county board supervisor to define what he meant by “racism.”

Supervisor Brian Thomas supported Gonzalez saying his would be a new perspective.

The two men’s appointments to the commission sparked a number of other members to resign.