New Commissioner Would Fill Fire and Police Oversight Body

Krissie Fung. Photo from the Milwaukee Turners.

A new member is pending to fill Milwaukee’s public safety oversight body.

Milwaukee Turners associate director Krissie Fung would be the ninth member of the Fire & Police Commission.

The commission is responsible for hiring, firing and discipline within the Milwaukee Police Department and Milwaukee Fire Department. However, it lost its ability in 2023 to formally set standard operating procedures as a result of the state’s Act 12 legislation.

A community meeting to review her nomination is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 28 at the Mitchell Street Library, 906 W. Historic Mitchell St. The meeting is scheduled to run from 6 to 7 p.m. A virtual attendance option is also available.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson nominated Fung earlier this month. The full Common Council must confirm her appointment.

Commissioners serve in a part-time capacity, earning $6,600 per year for participating in regularly-scheduled evening meetings. They are appointed for five-year terms.

The nominee has worked for the Turners since 2021 and, in addition to her associate director role, serves as program manager of the nonprofit organization’s Zero Youth Corrections program. A resume says she has guided the distribution of $400,000 annually to organizations working to prevent youth incarceration.

Fung, according to her resume, serves as a board member of the Japanese American Citizen League of Wisconsin and previously served as an election worker in Milwaukee, Waukesha and New Berlin. She previously was the general manager of 42 Ale House in St. Francis and holds an economics degree from New York University.

Fung would fill a seat last held by Fred Crouther. The pastor’s term ended in July 2024. Crouther was first appointed in 2014 by Mayor Tom Barrett.

The pastor was the last remaining holdover from the botched 2020 demotion of then-police chief Alfonso Morales, which resulted in a $626,000 settlement. Several members of the commission resigned or were replaced, but Crouther largely avoided direct criticism. At his final meeting in June, his fellow commissioners praised him.

“People don’t realize quite how much work fire and police commissioners do,” said Executive Director Leon W. Todd, III, praising Crouther for participating in “behind the scenes” meetings regarding employment and disciplinary actions. Todd, who brought stability to the commission with his late 2020 hiring, said Crouther was an “excellent” member.

The commission is currently led by chair Miriam Horwitz, a retired deputy city attorney, and vice chair Bree Spencer, a project manager with a national civil rights group.

The last new members came in February 2024, when the council confirmed MMSD administrator Jeff Spence, retired firefighter Christopher Snyder and former retired MPS principal Ramon Evans.

Other commission members include human trafficking victims advocate Dana World-Patterson, retired police officer Ruben Burgos and MENTOR Greater Milwaukee leader LaNelle Ramey.

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