FPC Process for the Selection of the MPD Interim Chief

On Friday January 12th, 2018 the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission (FPC) released the job announcement for the Acting/Interim Police Chief for the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD). This announcement has been posted internally to the department via MPD’s daily roll-call and is posted to the FPC’s website for public review (http://city.milwaukee.gov/fpc). The deadline for submission of application materials is 11:59 p.m. on January 19, 2018.

This candidate search is specifically focused on the selection of an Interim Chief whom will lead the department upon the retirement of Chief Flynn on February 16th. The person selected in this process will serve on a waiver basis until a permanent Chief is selected for a renewable term of office consistent with City of Milwaukee Code and State Law. Candidates for Acting/Interim Chief of Police may also apply for the permanent Chief position when it is posted, and the timeline and process for the selection of a permanent Chief will be communicated by the FPC as soon as practicable.

The FPC has already received numerous communications from community members and groups advising us on their desired qualifications for the next Chief of Police. We appreciate that the community is engaged in this process and we encourage other interested people/organizations to share their opinions and suggestions with us by emailing our office at fpc@milwaukee.gov. Letters to the FPC on this topic will be publicly posted to our website [1] and will be reviewed by the board of fire and police commissioners.

We encourage the public to also engage with us via written communication as we select the Interim Chief. We assure the public that the selection process for the permanent Chief will include ample opportunity to meet and discuss the desired qualities that our community has for our City’s next permanent Chief of Police.

Our commission is comprised of seven independent, civilian members of the Milwaukee community and is statutorily tasked with this important duty. We take this responsibly seriously and will make our decisions based upon what each of us feels is in the best interest of the City of Milwaukee. That this process if free from politics or favoritism is the essential reason that this independent commission was created in State Law in 1885. We intend to prove that the wisdom of that decision is not lost during this important time in our City’s history.

1 Communications to the FPC which contain vulgar, inflammatory, offensive or profane language will not be publicly posted nor will any communications deemed to be irrelevant, spam or solely promotional in nature. All information will be recorded and maintained pursuant to local record retention requirements and subject to Wisconsin open records law.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.