Scratching the surface of Shon Barnes

Madison’s former police chief had a lot to say. But what did he do?

Shon Barnes’ final weeks in Madison were an extended Festivus. Apparently our departing police chief had a lot of problems with you people, and he wanted to make sure we heard about it before he rode out into the western sun to become Seattle’s top cop. 

Of course, we knew this day was coming. Barnes was hired to lead the Madison Police Department in February 2021, but as early as October of that year, Isthmus reported on rumors that he was looking at jobs elsewhere. Barnes denied the rumors and even gave a spiritual/manifestation response to questions about his commitment to Madison:

“I kid you not, I wrote down that I would be the chief of a police department by 2020 in Jesus’ name,” Barnes told Isthmus. “I got this job in December of 2020, in the middle of a pandemic. That means something to me. I know people in this community don’t like to talk a lot about faith. But when God delivers you something, you need to make good on that promise.”

Barnes also said he was “committed to this job and to this city” and that he was “here for the long haul.” He would repeat that refrain after he was announced as a finalist for a job in Chicago in July 2023, and again after he interviewed for a job in San Jose in October 2024.

“I love Madison. I love this community. I’m not going anywhere,” he told Isthmus back in 2021.

Four years later, he’s gone. 

Before he left, Barnes contacted Tone Madison for an interview that he treated less as a chance to answer some questions and more as an opportunity to give us a piece of his mind. He willfully misinterpreted our reporting, our line of questioning about conflicts of interest, and, my personal pet peeve, science. 

“If you say ‘I don’t accept the science,’ then write that,” Barnes said during that interview, deflecting criticisms of MPD’s recent body-camera pilot program. “Science doesn’t care whether you agree with what it says or not. It just gives you the answer. You’re forgetting that.” 

Sir, we’re talking about a study of a 90-day pilot program that was limited in scope and that the author himself cautioned did not have many answers, much less “the answer” (whatever that means). The study provided information, but it was not indisputable “science.” And it certainly wasn’t definitive on body cameras.

Barnes also aired his grievances about the Office of the Independent Monitor (OIM) to Madison365, saying that Madison’s fledgling police-oversight agency went astray when it hired a data analyst. Hiring a data analyst was always part of the plan but that didn’t stop Barnes from complaining that the analyst is “a hammer looking for a nail, and they probably pose one of the greatest threats to the trust and legitimacy that we have built up between the police department and the community.” Thankfully Madison365 executive editor Rob Chappell checked Barnes’ comments against the actual language of the City ordinance that created OIM. In a follow-up episode of Madison365‘s podcast, Chappell showed in detail that Barnes’ comments were completely incorrect. 

With Barnes’ grievances, scratch the surface you’ll find a defensive, thin-skinned man. But if you also scratch the surface of his progressive-sounding jargon, you’ll find more of the same policing. Take his signature “Madison-centric policing.” For one, policing the city you’re paid to police… revolutionary. But also, the substance of “Madison-centric policing” amounted to more of the same policing we’ve always had. Barnes’ fixation on “data-driven” policing, which focuses on “high crime” areas, in reality translates to a feedback loop—the places that are most heavily policed and therefore have higher rates of reported crime, are then policed even more heavily. 

Another component of Madison-centric policing was hiring more cops to do progressive-sounding jobs like “Youth Trust and Legitimacy Initiative” and “Neighborhood Police Officer Program.” Jobs that were supposed to build trust between police and communities, but without reforms to hold officers accountable or remove bad cops, it’s just more cops. Reforms, throughout recent history and via different avenues, the public has made very clear that it wants.  

To give Barnes some credit, he did try to fire one cop, though he was blocked by the Police and Fire Commission. But did he make any reforms that would actually hold cops accountable? Especially considering Madison has its fair share of deeply problematic cops? Given his response to OIM collecting data, I doubt it.

Other than spending more money on cops, year after year (in the midst of the City’s financial crunch as well), what did Barnes actually change? He tried to push for body-worn cameras, even supported making it harder for people to access BWC footage, and returning cops to Madison’s public high schools. While none of these efforts were successful, it’s worth pointing out that they were opposed by the community he claims to serve. So how is MPD different, substantially, now from four years ago? 

Barnes said all the right things—about data, community, and relationships—to sound progressive and win the support of centrists. But scratch the surface, and you’d find there wasn’t a lot there. Maybe this next round, the City of Madison can choose a police chief who does less talking and more listening, so they can make the actual changes we want and need.