Milwaukee enters into mediation with former Police Chief Morales
The City of Milwaukee and attorneys for former Police Chief Alfonso Morales are entering into mediation as the weeks are waning to reach a settlement.
On May 19, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Christopher Foley ruled that Morales be reinstated as the city's police chief in 45 days if the two sides cannot reach an agreement, which would put him back in the position from which the city's Fire and Police Commission had removed him last summer.
And on Wednesday the city filed a notice of appeal of Foley's decision to reinstate Morales.
Attorney Nate Cade, who is representing the city and commission in the case, said the notice of appeal should not be seen as a signal about the status of negotiations.
Morales' attorney, Franklyn Gimbel, said Wednesday the city agreed to participate in a mediation process led by former U.S. Magistrate Judge David E. Jones.
Gimbel said both parties agreed not to share the date the mediation process will begin, however. If the two sides cannot come to a resolution, Foley's decision would have Morales return to work in a little over three weeks, on July 3. It appears the mediation process would mark the first time the two parties would formally sit down to discuss a possible settlement. In a motion filed in April, Gimbel accused the city of dragging its feet on that front, and said the city had neither made a settlement offer nor proposed a return-to-work date in the four months after Foley reversed Morales' demotion to captain.
Morales was demoted to captain 10 months ago by the city's Fire and Police Commission, prompting him to retire, sue and request a judicial review of the decision. The city subsequently admitted that Morales' due process rights were violated.
Foley has twice ruled against the city — once in December, when he reversed the commission's decision, and again in May, when he ordered that Morales be reinstated.
Since Morales' ousting, the city has had two acting police chiefs. Current Acting Police Chief Jeffrey Norman is one of three finalists for the Wauwatosa chief position, opening up the possibility that the city could see its third acting chief in a row.