Barrett says changes needed at Fire and Police Commission
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett on Tuesday stopped short of calling for members of the city’s Fire and Police Commission to resign following a judge’s ruling that found the commission had conducted a “fundamentally flawed process” in its ousting of Alfonso Morales from the position of police chief.
As a result of the commission’s action, the city appears likely to face significant settlement costs.
Some members of the Common Council have called for commissioners to resign or be removed and laid part of the blame on Barrett.
But Barrett’s comments echoed those of council members who have said they want to know what legal advice commissioners received from the City Attorney’s Office before the commissioners’ decision, a question that appears to have given rise to conflicting answers.
“I think that they have made some serious mistakes,” Barrett said Tuesday.
“They have an opinion as to what caused them to make those mistakes, and I think that that’s something that we have to explore further as to what happened.”
Barrett on Tuesday praised City Attorney Tearman Spencer and his office.
“My dealings with the city attorney and the City Attorney’s Office, I feel very, very good about the quality of representation that we’ve received,” he said.
Common Council President Cavalier Johnson has requested that the city’s inspector general evaluate the situation.
Barrett’s comments came days after a judge reversed the commission’s unanimous August decision to demote Morales to captain, prompting Morales to retire, sue and request a judicial review of the decision.
The city has acknowledged in a legal filing that Morales was denied due process.
Barrett said residents should expect “changes” as positions on the powerful civilian oversight board come open in the coming months.
But he said he would continue his renomination of current Commissioner Ann Wilson, which is currently before the Common Council.
Barrett was asked why he continued to support Wilson, given her vote in favor of Morales’ demotion, and why city taxpayers should trust the commissioners, given the potential ramifications of their handling of this case.
“I look at different people on the commission differently,” he said. “And I think she has served very, very well. And do I think they made the wrong decision? Absolutely yes, absolutely yes. I think that if they felt that it was necessary to terminate him that they had to follow due process, and I don’t think that they did.”
The current six commissioners have served between two and seven years on the commission, with Wilson and Commissioner Steven DeVougas being the longest-serving, according to city records.
Commissioners are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the Common Council.
State law states fire and police commissioners can be removed for cause in a process that requires a vote of threequarters of the members of the Common Council.
The city’s commission, which has been marred by dysfunction, is one of the oldest and most powerful in the nation. Its commissioners have the authority to hire and fire police and fire chiefs, independently investigate and monitor citizen complaints, discipline employees and more.
Barrett said the commission’s effort to select the city’s next police chief will continue.
The commission is currently tied 3-3 between two external candidates. The seventh commissioner resigned citing its dysfunction, and Barrett’s nominee for a new tie-breaking commissioner has been held up because the wrong entity conducted her background check.
Common Council members have called for a pause in the search to allow incoming Acting Chief Jeffrey Norman to be given the opportunity to prove in the acting chief role that he should be given the permanent job.