Morales Named Fitchburg Police Chief
Former Milwaukee chief will lead suburban Madison department.
Former Milwaukee police chief Alfonso Morales is back on the beat.
Morales was hired Monday evening to lead the Fitchburg Police Department. The Dane County community is a suburb of Madison with a population of approximately 30,000.
“The Commission is looking forward to the future, working with Chief Morales, to continue to provide community-involved policing and law enforcement that respects the value of all individuals in our community,” said the Fitchburg commission in a statement.
The Milwaukee Fire & Police Commission unanimously demoted Morales in August 2020, before a timeline for him to respond to 11 directives expired. Morales, who then retired, successfully sued the city on the basis that his due process rights were violated. He had a four-year contract to serve as chief until January 2024.
Earlier this summer, after a judge ordered his reinstatement, Morales agreed to a $627,000 settlement with the city. He also will receive his monthly pension of approximately $8,500.
Circuit Court Judge Christopher Foley laid the blame for the issue squarely at the feet of the Fire & Police Commission. “This disgraceful conduct by the commission has created complete uncertainty and total chaos in this community,” said Foley in June. “I’m forcing the city to obey the law or buy their way out of this because of what they did.”
Morales faced controversy following an evidence leak in a sexual assault investigation involving an FPC commissioner just before the then-acting chief was given a four-year term in December 2019. Further controversy arose from the department’s response, including a false claim of a Molotov cocktail thrown at officers, to the summer 2020 protests that occurred following the killing of George Floyd. The issue came to a head at the six-month performance review for Morales in July 2020 when the directives were issued without public debate.
Since Morales’ lawsuit was filed, the majority of the Fire & Police Commission members have been replaced. Mayor Tom Barrett‘s chief of staff pledged a replacement for Ann Wilson in June, after the council rejected her reappointment, but no replacement appointment has been made. The only other members not replaced have terms that have yet to expire.
Acting police chief Jeffrey Norman is the lone candidate invited to apply to be Milwaukee’s permanent police chief.
More about the Fire & Police Commission's Troubles
- City Hall: Johnson Names Former Deputy City Attorney To Fire & Police Commission - Jeramey Jannene - Nov 2nd, 2022
- City Hall: Washington, Burgos Join Fire-Police Board - Jeramey Jannene - Sep 20th, 2022
- City Hall: Kessler Resigns From Fire-Police Board - Jeramey Jannene - Sep 19th, 2022
- City Hall: Committee Backs Johnson’s FPC Nominees - Jeramey Jannene - Sep 9th, 2022
- City Hall: Mayor Acts To Create Full Fire & Police Commission - Jeramey Jannene - Jul 12th, 2022
- City Hall: Bree Spencer Named To Fire & Police Commission - Jeramey Jannene - Feb 9th, 2022
- FPC Suspends Residency Preference For Police, Fire Promotions - Jeramey Jannene - Dec 7th, 2021
- City Hall: Committee Endorses Dana World-Patterson’s Appointment To FPC - Jeramey Jannene - Dec 2nd, 2021
- City Hall: Dana World-Patterson Nominated to FPC - Jeramey Jannene - Nov 9th, 2021
- City Hall: Jeffrey Norman Named Permanent Chief of Police - Jeramey Jannene - Nov 4th, 2021
Read more about Fire & Police Commission's Troubles here