Deciding on a new police chief for the Milwaukee Police Department has been far from easy.
On Dec. 17, the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission acknowledged Assistant Chief Jeffrey Norman as the MPD’s new acting chief. Acting Chief Michael Brunson is set to retire on Dec. 22, and while the FPC has yet to come to a decision regarding who the next permanent chief should be, a new layer has been added to the long road to nominating MPD’s top cop.
Just one day after the FPC nominated Norman as acting chief, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Christopher Foley made the decision to overturn the commission’s original decision to demote former Chief Alfonso Morales. Since the commission’s decision in August, Morales decided to retire. However, the decision to demote Morales to captain has been reversed, and the next steps are unknown as Foley is leaving that up to the commission.
Meeting Between Morales’ Attorney and the City of Milwaukee Ends Without Resolution
Morales’ attorney, Franklyn Gimbel, says that from his time serving on the FPC in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, he knew that Morales was not treated fairly by the commission. “I knew what the predicate rules were before the commission could take disciplinary action, whether it was suspending people or terminating them or demoting them,” Gimbel says. “And among those rules were the need to give notice, to have evidence, to support the allegations of wrongdoing, to permit the person to articulate his or her response to the allegations of wrongdoing and allow his or her lawyer to cross-examine those witnesses. None of that happened.”
On Monday, Dec. 21, Gimbel met with the city attorney regarding their options moving forward. Between Foley's decision on Friday and today, Gimbel has been working to see if the city is looking forward to Morales becoming the chief again. The verdict is not so promising. “The implication that I got from them is that they are not (looking forward to Morales’ return to the job),” Gimbel says.
In response, Gimbel looked into the economic impact on the chief since his demotion in August, hoping for a settlement. However, the meeting with the city attorney on Monday did not seem to value the case as much as he would have liked. The exact amount of money asked for is still undisclosed to the public.
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Gimbel recognizes the political dialogue that this case has generated, and he doesn’t think that Morales deserves to take the brunt of people’s complaints against the MPD. “Any grievances that people have against the police department, they think that the fall guy should be Chief Morales, and that's just B.S.,” Gimbel says.
Gimbel hopes that, in the upcoming weeks, it will become clear whether there is a consensus for seeing Morales as chief again, which does not seem to be the case as of now. Additionally, he hopes that the city attorney recognizes that the behavior of the FPC was unjust. “The behavior of the Fire and Police Commission and whoever was giving counsel to them was found by a court to be outrageous, in my opinion, and they have to pay a price for that,” he continues.
Gimbel also hopes to see Morales repaid. Morales retired despite his contract running until 2024; therefore, he has lost the money that he would have normally been paid. “So, he has suffered financially, and there has to be a recognition of that,” Gimbel says.
Chief Morales’ Attorney Prepares to File Lawsuit
Due to the holiday season, there may be a delay in hearing back from the city attorney until early January. If the city does not come to a decision deemed reasonable by Morales, Gimbel will start a lawsuit either in state or federal court. “Including potentially a civil rights action, an action for breach of contract and the intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress,” Gimbel says.
In the event that the case goes to federal court, Gimbel “may grow the case to something which includes allegations of the provocativeness of comments that came out of city hall that generated protests in front of the chief's house in Milwaukee and generated disruption of his family life and threats to members of his family,” Gimbel says. “And defamation by the comments that were made by some of the fire and police commissioners about the chief, about his truthfulness, which have no factual basis at all.”
Gimbel says that what started as an unemployment case could grow into something more “where the potential for significant damages are pretty substantial.”
Milwaukee Common Council Asks to Delay Vote
The FPC has been deadlocked on their decision between nominating either Hoyt Mahaley or Malik Aziz, two of the three candidates for next permanent police chief. The commission is set to vote again on Jan. 7; however, some members of the common council are asking to let new acting chief Jeffrey Norman remain in his position for the next several months.
Alderman Robert Bauman of the Milwaukee Common Council released a statement that approved of the decision to appoint Norman as acting chief. Norman was Bauman's first choice when the selection process for chief first began. In fact, although Norman is not currently a candidate, he still hopes that he will eventually be appointed as the permanent chief.
Bauman's statement asked for a delay in the decision to vote for MPD’s new police chief. “I am calling on the FPC to pause the chief selection process, keep Norman in the acting chief position for six to nine months to see how he performs, and then determine if he deserves appointment as permanent chief," Bauman writes. "Jeffrey Norman is an excellent candidate for permanent chief. Let's see what he can do.”
Alderman Ashanti Hamilton’s recently released statement echoes Bauman’s desire to keep Norman in his role. “We all heard last night that former Chief Morales was reinstated to his position by a judge,” Hamilton writes. “No one yet seems to know what it means, but it will likely be some time before a settlement of the matter can be reached. And the board appears no closer to choosing a permanent replacement for the former chief than it was two weeks ago.”
After his acknowledgement of the uncertain circumstances, he called for the commission to pause its process for recruitment for a new chief. “Let Acting Chief Norman run the department,” Hamilton says. “He is more than able.” He continues, “With less than a week to go until Christmas, we could all do with a little peace.”
Acting Chief Brunson’s ‘Bittersweet’ Retirement
Due to Brunson’s retirement, members of the FPC took time to acknowledge Brunson’s accomplishments at their most recent meeting on Dec. 17. “For the four months that you’ve been here, I’ve never been happier with the representation of the police department,” said Angela McKenzie, Vice-Chair of the FPC, to Brunson. “I found you to be of the utmost professionalism and I always liked you. I always thought that you’d make an awesome chief.”
McKenzie called Brunson’s retirement “bittersweet” before the FPC said their final goodbyes to the well-liked chief. During Brunson’s time as acting chief, he has worked towards change in the police department. He’s been outspoken against chokeholds, leading the FPC to vote on a partial chokehold ban, among other new required de-escalation tactics. Under his leadership, officers now have to file a report every time they point a gun at someone.
“I always appreciated your diligence and your willingness to serve,” Commissioner Steven DeVougas told Brunson at the meeting. “And I just want to personally thank you for being willing to serve and to lead when called upon. You really were a team player and the department will really be losing a key individual.”
