In an unapologetic opinion piece published on The Hill Monday morning, Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke said that riots happening in the city were due to “tribal behavior.”

Clarke, who is African-American, has won legions of conservative supporters by frequently slamming the Black Lives Matter movement.

“The Milwaukee riots should be the last time the policies of liberal Democrats are held up as anything other than misery-inducing, divisive, exploitative and racist manipulation of the urban populations,” Clarke wrote.

The riots came in response to the police-involved shooting death of 23-year-old Sylville Smith, a Black man who police say ran from officials during a traffic stop Saturday. The shooting sparked massive demonstrations, and resulted in six businesses, including a BMO Harris Bank, being set ablaze.

“What happened Saturday night and again Sunday night had little to do with police use of force – it was a collapse of the social order where tribal behavior leads to reacting to circumstances instead of waiting for facts to emerge,” Clarke continued. “The law of the jungle replaced the rule of law in Milwaukee Saturday night over an armed career criminal suspect who confronted police. Four other people were murdered in Milwaukee in separate incidents before the cop shooting and no riots ensued.”

Police Chief Edward Flynn has not revealed the officer who shot Smith’s identity, but says he or she is Black. Authorities are currently waiting for Smith’s autopsy results, and body camera footage of the shooting has not yet been released.

Read Clarke’s full letter here.

Photo: AP Images