Jeffrey Norman unanimously selected as Milwaukee's new police chief, gets 4-year term

Jeffrey Norman was unanimously selected by the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission to be its police chief for the next four years Thursday, ending a tumultuous 15-month search for someone to lead the department at a time when police scrutiny is as high as ever.

Norman is a Milwaukee native who joined the department in 1996. He is the second Black man to be named chief on a permanent basis in the department’s history, coming after Arthur Jones, whose tenure ran from 1996 to 2003.

Commissioners said they voted for Norman because they were impressed with his commitment to community-oriented policing, his accessibility and his status as a native and lifelong resident of Milwaukee.

“I think he is dedicated to the city. I think he is very sincere about what he wants to see happen," Commissioner Joan Kessler said.

Norman appeared emotional after being given a moment to address the commission following the vote, which was conducted through video conference online.

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

Cavalier Johnson, the president of the Common Council, said in a statement after the vote that the "appointment is well deserved and, as I have said time and time again, I can’t think of a better person for the job."

Norman has served as chief in an acting capacity since December 2020, but his confirmation in the position for the next four years will add much needed stability for a department that has been rocked by turnover as deadlines loom for a court-mandated effort to overhaul its stop-and-frisk practices. 

Those practices have been shown to disproportionately impact people of color, often without legal justification.

Thursday’s vote is the culmination of a wild journey the commission went on to find a new chief after ousting Alfonso Morales in a legally flawed move in August 2020.

Since that time, the city has had to pay Morales a $626,000 settlement to walk away from the job; two men had to take over as acting police chief; and four out of seven commissioners have been replaced by Mayor Tom Barrett.

Norman wasn’t just on the sideline for much of that drama. He first entered the discussion of becoming chief when he applied for the position shortly after Morales’ ouster, but he was removed from consideration in favor of outside candidates before he could participate in any public interview.

To the delight of many key city officials, he became acting chief months later anyway, following the retirement of Morales’ immediate, temporary replacement, Michael Brunson, Sr. Norman had earned the confidence of many from his time as commander of District Three, where he was praised for his accessibility and community outreach.

When Morales’ litigation against the city grounded the search for a permanent chief to halt calls for the commission to give Norman the job grew louder. After months of inaction, Norman at one point applied for the open chief position in Wauwatosa, but was passed over.

Eventually, with new commissioners in place, the Fire and Police Commission scrapped its dormant search for a chief to start anew. In September, the commission unanimously decided to invite Norman to be the sole applicant for the job.

Norman’s tenure formally begins at a pivotal moment outside the walls of the department’s downtown Police Administration Building as well.

After George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020, Americans have loudly called for meaningful reform in policing and are expecting greater accountability among officers and collaboration with the public.

Milwaukee is also experiencing several public safety crises ever since the COVID-19 pandemic upended employment, education and social service outreach for countless residents. In 2020, the city or county of Milwaukee saw record highs in homicides, nonfatal shootings, fatal motor vehicle crashes and overdoses.

One of Norman’s most attractive qualifications for the role of chief was his history of community engagement.

In his communications with the public, Norman has pledged time after time that the department under his leadership will work closely with community members. That would set him apart from his predecessor, Alfonso Morales, who was criticized for moving the department further away from community-oriented policing.

His outreach is not just an effort at mending tensions over police brutality. Norman has gone so far as to say that collaboration with the community is “my crime strategy.”

“We are looking for partnerships wherever we can find it,” Norman said during a public forum in October. “We know that we have trust in some communities, we have somewhat trust in others and none in many others. We’re working on all three.”

Norman has also indicated he is open-minded about civilianizing the Police Department. That means potentially growing its base of non-sworn, unarmed employees who respond to non-emergency calls.

Norman will also be responsible for bringing the Police Department into compliance with its landmark $3.4 million settlement agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin over its stop-and-frisk practices.

The settlement agreement, reached in 2018, requires the department to overhaul those practices – from how they are performed and documented to how officers and trained, supervised and disciplined.

The task is a monumental one and comes with a deadline to comply fully by 2023.

A recent three-year progress report showed that racial disparities in the department’s stop-and-frisk practices worsened from 2019 to 2020, with Black drivers 9.5 times more likely to be pulled over by police and Latinx drivers two and a half times more likely, compared to white people. Meanwhile, the vast majority of frisks were performed without police documenting a legal justification for them.

But there have been encouraging developments. Since Norman took over as acting chief, other progress reports have made a point of complimenting the department’s top administrators and their commitment to complying with the agreement.

Another report released in late October also showed the department made progress in the streets during the first half of 2021. A sampling of frisks performed by officers showed that 48.8% went without a documented justification, down from 86.8% during the final six months of 2020.

The agreement stipulates the department cannot allow more than 15% of stops to go without proper justification and to hold those figure for a minimum of five years.

Despite inheriting the issue, Norman told the Fire and Police Commission in October he should be held accountable if it’s not completed on time.

“I asked for it,” Norman said. He later added, “I’ve taken on this role with the understanding that this is our lift. I’m committed.”

Contact Elliot Hughes at elliot.hughes@jrn.com or 414-704-8958. Follow him on Twitter @elliothughes12.