FPC trying to fire Chief Morales, lawyer says
The attorney for embattled Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales said Wednesday that a high-ranking Police Department official had been told by a member of the Fire and Police Commission that the oversight board intends to fire the chief.
Attorney Franklyn Gimbel declined to identify the MPD official or the FPC commission member, but said the conversation happened within the last six months and the MPD official was identified by the commission member as a possible “candidate for succession.”
Joined by Morales, Gimbel made the comments in an interview Wednesday with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Gimbel and Morales have spoken before about the prospect of looming discipline from the FPC, including last week after the commission voted to issue a series of directives to the chief last Monday. But Gimbel’s comments were
the first time either of them publicly said the FPC was explicitly trying to remove Morales as chief.
“The process has some stink to it,” Gimbel said.
Amid continuing racial justice protests against police brutality, Morales was under intense scrutiny even before the FPC issued the 18 directives last week. The directives range from providing the panel with information on disciplinary cases to crafting department policies about ending the use of chemical irritants during civil unrest.
Penalties for noncompliance include termination.
Morales, who was appointed to a four-year term by the panel last December, has recently been conducting a series of interviews with media outlets defending the department and his role leading it.
“We’ve done a lot of stuff in the last two and a half years to bring this city together, as a law enforcement agency,” Morales said.
Morales has faced criticism from the community, while seven members of the Common Council said last week they had lost confidence in him as chief. In recent days, protesters have gathered outside his home for what one billed as a “going away party.”
The debate over his future comes weeks before the Democratic National Convention, as Milwaukee police are working to plan security around the scaled-back event, which will feature a nomination acceptance speech by Joe Biden. Various groups say they plan to amp up protests during the DNC.
The Journal Sentinel was unable to reach six out of seven FPC commissioners for comment Wednesday. The seventh, Commissioner Everett Cocroft, declined comment. He said he does not think it is “proper” to discuss the directives “right now.”
More than a week after the directives were issued, none of the commissioners have explained how the directives were drafted or how they were agreed upon, raising transparency concerns. The directives were approved without any discussion during the commission’s July 20 meeting.
Morales said Wednesday he intends to comply with the directives, having already submitted materials to the FPC for three directives that were due Monday. Most of the other directives require Morales to complete them by Aug. 6 — a week from Thursday.
The directives allege that Morales intentionally delayed or ignored a series of requests for information by the FPC into disciplinary cases and active investigations. He said Wednesday that his department is preparing to refute those allegations.
“You will see the Milwaukee Police Department, my executive group and myself, were timely on our responses for requests.”
Gimbel said he asked the FPC to extend every deadline to late August, but was told he would have to submit a letter justifying each extension. He said he dropped the request because Morales couldn’t afford to spend time convincing the FPC to extend the deadlines if they ultimately wouldn’t be granted.
In 2017, the FPC directed then-chief Edward Flynn to change the department’s policy on vehicle pursuits, which also came with the possibility of termination if he did not comply. Flynn was given a two-week deadline but was granted an extension.
The FPC is one of the oldest and most powerful civilian oversight boards of police and fire departments in the country. The commission’s responsibilities include recruiting and testing police and fire employees for hiring and promotion.