MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission is scheduled to vote on appointing Acting Police Chief Jeffrey Norman to Chief of Police during a meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
TMJ4 will be livestreaming the event at tmj4.com/live2 and on Facebook.
Norman was previously chosen to be the sole applicant for the job. The FPC put on hold its initial search on a police chief amid the city's legal battle with the previous chief, Alfonso Morales. But since the city settled with Morales and Morales moved on to be the chief of the Fitchburg Police Department, the FPC has set its sights on Acting Chief Norman.
Norman has participated in a selection progress these past months. He was asked to present his resume and ideas for the future of the department, and asked questions from commissioners at several meetings and participated in community listening sessions.
If chosen, Norman would serve a four-year term as police chief.
The FPC demoted former chief Morales last year, sparking a legal conflict between the former chief and the city. Morales accepted a judge-ordered financial package earlier this year, concluding the conflict. Norman has been serving as acting chief since late last year.
Other options the FPC could have approved but chose not to include conducting a local, internal search for candidates from within the Milwaukee Police Department, or conducting a national search.
In August the commission unanimously voted to end the search for a new police chief and restart the process in September.
Only one of three finalists the FPC whittled down to in its previous search for a new chief was still interested in the job: Hoyt Mahaley, who calls Milwaukee home and started his career with the Milwaukee Police Department. He's served with the Federal Bureau of Investigations since then.
Malik Aziz, who had been named one of three finalists for the position, was named the next chief of police for the Prince George’s County Police Department in Maryland. Chris Davis, another finalist, was named the next police chief of the Green Bay Police Department - leaving Mahaley the last finalist still interested in leading the Milwaukee Police Department.
