Jeffrey Norman appointed Milwaukee’s new police chief

Acting Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman was appointed to a full, four-year term Thursday night, wrapping up more than a year of turmoil over the city’s top law enforcement position.

Norman was appointed acting chief in December. His predecessor, Alfonso Morales, was demoted to captain by the city Fire and Police Commission in August 2020, a move a county circuit court judge ruled violated Morales’ due process rights. Morales subsequently sued the city and settled for $626,000. He is now the Fitchburg police chief.

The commission deadlocked twice in votes to replace Morales before deciding to move forward with Norman. The seven-member commission voted unanimously to appoint him to a full term, rather than have him finish out Morales’ term.

“Being a Milwaukeean that has seen the issues, being a father with kids in Milwaukee, and being dedicated, i.e. (a Milwaukee Public Schools) graduate, a Marquette University graduate, all those things add up to someone, to me, who has the perfect resume to turn around and create a different energy with our police department,” said commissioner LaNelle Ramey.

Other commissioners also referenced the difficulties of the past several years, which included racial justice protests throughout summer 2020, the killings of Joel Acevedo, Roberto Zielinski, Earl Lawhorn and others by on- and off-duty Milwaukee Police Department officers, and years of community distrust of the city’s police department.

“We need stability, and we need consistency — the city has been through a number of very unfortunate events,” said commissioner Joan Kessler. “The goal of being a city that has actually constitutional policing is still a ways off, but I think it is within our grasp, and it’s within our grasp for a lot of reasons, but Chief Norman is going to be the primary push in making some of these things happen.”

During the initial search for Morales’ replacement, Norman was among the top six candidates for the job, but was not one of the three finalists. After the two tie votes, the commission decided in August to terminate their search and move forward with Norman as the sole candidate.

Norman is the city’s second Black police chief, and the 19th police chief in the city’s history. He joined the department as an officer in 1996, and was promoted to detective in 2002, then to lieutenant and captain. He’s worked in the robbery, violent crimes, homicide, and property crimes divisions. Norman got his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and holds a masters in administration from Kaplan University and a law degree from Marquette.

Norman was emotional, and struggled to speak after hearing the vote.

“I am honored and deeply humbled by the board’s unanimous support,” he said. “I look forward to continue to work with FPC for the betterment of our city. Thank you.”

Milwaukee Common Council President Cavalier Johnson said in a statement that he looks forward to working with Norman.

“This appointment is well deserved and, as I have said time and time again, I can’t think of a better person for the job,” he said. “As we work to combat crime and address issues in the way we effectively police, including reforming and modernizing the department, I know Chief Norman will be a collaborative and open-minded partner.”