Tosa Announces Acting Chief of Police
Captain Luke Vetter promoted. 11% of officers left department in last year.
Police. Photo by Highway Patrol Images / (CC BY)
June 1 marked the first day of Barry Weber’s retirement as chief of police for the Wauwatosa Police Department (WPD). Weber’s reign lasted 31 years, starting and ending in different controversies at the department. The immediate question raised by his departure is who will sit at the helm until Weber’s replacement is announced later this month?
A WPD spokesperson informed the Wisconsin Examiner that Captain Luke Vetter was sworn in as acting chief on June 1, when Weber officially retired. Vetter, like several officers and supervisors at WPD, became familiar to protesters who took to the city’s streets during 2020. Vetter’s career stretches back to 2001, as he climbed through the ranks from sergeant, to lieutenant, to captain, to now acting chief.
Including Weber, 11% of WPD’s officers left the department between July 2020 and June of this year. This included two captains, a lieutenant, a detective and six officers. Wauwatosa’s Police and Fire Commission (PFC) is planning to have a public forum with the candidates as part of the search for a new chief in mid June. The PFC will be accepting questions from the public until June 7 to pose to the as-yet undisclosed candidates.
Reprinted with permission of Wisconsin Examiner.
