Morales to serve as police chief until 2020
Interim leader promoted with unanimous vote
Alfonso Morales will remain Milwaukee’s top cop through January 2020, the city’s Fire and Police Commission announced Thursday.
Morales was named the Milwaukee Police Department’s interim police chief in February after the retirement of Edward Flynn, who had served as chief for 10 years.
The commission unanimously voted to appoint Morales as police chief to serve until Jan. 7, 2020, which was when Flynn’s term was to have ended.
“It is important for the public safety of our city that our police department has stability in leadership,” Commission Chairman Steven DeVougas said.
After the meeting, Morales was asked how it felt to no longer have the interim title.
“It still feels the same,” he said. “There’s a lot of work to be done.”
Morales thanked the commission for the opportunity to start making changes over the past two months, and he thanked his command staff for its work in reorganizing the department.
His appointment won praise from the Milwaukee Police Association, the union that represents about 1,600 rankand-file officers.
“He has our support and we look forward to working with him,” Michael Crivello, the union’s president, said.
The commission approved Morales’ picks for top commanders and formally promoted Capt. Raymond Banks and Inspector Michael Brunson Sr. to the rank of assistant chief.
Banks and Brunson already had been acting in those roles, appearing at Common Council meetings and public events with Morales or on his behalf. Brunson was the other finalist for the interim chief position.
The commission also signed off on re-exempting the chief of staff position, a civilian management position that reports directly to the chief.
In the last budget cycle, the Common Council eliminated funding for the chief of staff position, saying the saved money would instead help fund a “Neighborhood Investment Beautification Program” for the central city and other neighborhoods.
But the council’s finance and personnel committee approved filling the vacant position at its March 21 meeting, according to a letter from Morales to the commission.
Flynn, the former chief, said earlier this year he had tried to address his personal shortcomings in communication by having a civilian chief of staff to work with the Common Council and other government partners.
The department’s last chief of staff, Joel Plant, earned an annual salary of more than $98,000.