Progressives are holding Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk’s feet to the fire on the Brittany Zimmerman tragedy.

If Falk decides to run for reelection as Dane County executive in the spring of 2009, she will surely face opponents in a politically charged race, and one gets the impression Falk is abundantly aware of this fact.

From the Capital Times (aggressively on the Zimmerman story now and catching up to the first-rate reporting and insights by Isthmus, the Wisconsin State Journal and the Madison blogosphere):

A former dispatcher that answered a 911 call from Brittany Zimmermann's cell phone before she was allegedly stabbed to death in her West Doty Street apartment committed two different procedural errors in handling the call, according to Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk.

Falk’s statement on the 911 call, "I do not believe, had the (911) errors not occurred, that her murder could've been prevented," amounts to a Bushian I-can’t-tell-you-anything-but-trust-me assurance.

Forget trust, give us facts, and release now the 911 call recording on the internet, like right now.

Police Chief Noble Wray said at a press conference last week: "It would be accurate to state that there is evidence contained in the call, which should have resulted in a Madison police office being dispatched."

So what exactly are we to make of Falk’s limited hang-out strategy revealing her convenient conclusion for her office, but very few facts?

Falk is offering a politically safe assertion.

One hopes Falk is correct in her conclusion.

But here’s some unsolicited vox populi: People would very much like full disclosure; give us facts, give us the 911 call recording on the Internet; and forget about your political ass: A young woman was killed and nothing else matters.

Resources

- Dane County 911 Communications Center

- Madison Police Department

- Dane County Executive