Milwaukee police chief candidate Aziz selected for Maryland job
A finalist for the Milwaukee police chief job has been selected to lead a police department in Maryland.
Maj. Malik Aziz of the Dallas Police Department was named chief of the Prince George’s County Police Department. He is scheduled to start May 9.
Aziz and Supervisory Special Agent Hoyt Mahaley of the FBI were finalists for the Milwaukee police chief job. But for three months the city’s Fire and Police Commission has made no progress on selecting a permanent chief, with a 3-3 tie vote between two candidates.
The commission is withholding another vote while the city navigates legal entanglements with ousted Chief Alfonso Morales.
In August, the commission voted unanimously to demote Morales to captain, prompting him to retire, sue and request a judicial review of the decision. Morales filed a claim against the city seeking $625,000 in damages.
The commission demoted him before he could complete seven pages of directives the commission had issued to him about two weeks earlier. The commission threatened discipline up to and including termination if he did not follow the directives.
In December, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Christopher Foley reversed the commission’s decision, finding its process in demoting Morales was “fundamentally flawed.”
The city has acknowledged in a legal filing that Morales was denied due process.
A report from the Milwaukee Inspector General’s Office found the commission did not adhere to state law, city opinions and its own rule in its decision to remove Morales as chief.
Aziz last year said he’s been attached to several police chief jobs across the country and would field job offers on a first-come, first-served basis.
He was selected Friday for the Maryland job by Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. She said Aziz is “reform-minded and has always placed an emphasis on the importance of community policing.”