Milwaukee Fire & Police Commission’s ‘Disgusting’ Promotion Denial Roils MPD

Upset officers say they consider the decision unfair and believe it will reduce proactive policing in Milwaukee.

Update: In the wake of this story, the Fire and Police Commission reversed its decision, unanimously approving the promotion.

The Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission has unfairly denied a promotion to an award-winning police officer, enraging officers throughout the Milwaukee Police Department, according to the Milwaukee Police Association and state Rep. Bob Donovan. In a statement on his Facebook page on Jan. 17, Donovan called the action a “disgusting state of affairs.”

“This decision is very disappointing; please know that we will explore every angle in addressing this matter,” MPA President Alex Ayala wrote members.

The promotion denial of the popular and well-regarded officer has roiled the MPD. WRN and the MPA have been deluged with comments from upset officers who say the action will reduce proactive policing because they believe the officer was punished for being an active cop without a significant disciplinary history. Police Chief Jeffrey Norman and Internal Affairs recommended that the officer be promoted to sergeant, the MPA told us, and Norman’s letter to the FPC confirms. (See the FPC commissioners’ bios at the end of this story.)

“It has been brought to my attention that at last evening’s Fire and Police Commission hearing, an award-winning Milwaukee police officer was denied promotion to Sergeant. This officer was recommended for promotion by the Chief and the Internal Affairs Division. He was denied promotion for one reason and one reason only—for doing his job,” Donovan wrote on Friday.

“It is disgusting to think that the Police and Fire Commission are punishing good cops for doing their jobs,” Donovan wrote. “It’s unacceptable, sets a dangerous precedent, and sends a horrible message to current and future officers trying to tackle the public safety issues in our community.”

According to Joel Moeller, the vice president of the Milwaukee Police Association, the officer was denied the promotion because the FPC “brought up the amount of use of force he’s had in his career.” Critically, this officer has received only a single district-level reprimand throughout his entire career, Moeller said. That means that, in every other use of force situation, the incidents did not result in any discipline against this officer, yet the FPC held them against the officer anyway, Moeller said.

The FPC – which is a group of civilians appointed by the mayor – also raised concerns that the officer did not have a body camera on during a fatal shooting, but he was never given one by the force, according to Moeller. He said the officer told the FPC of that fact during the meeting. Indeed, the officer was honored with a Medal of Valor Combat award for his actions in that shooting, WRN confirmed. The suspect shot another cop who was saved by his bulletproof vest, according to news reports at the time. The District Attorney ruled the shooting justified.

According to Moeller, the officer has had more than 80 “use of force” reports over 11 years. However, lay people often misunderstand what that phrase means; to be extremely clear, it doesn’t mean the officer did anything wrong. And that’s where the issue lies.

For example, the term “use of force” often means that an officer has simply decentralized a fighting subject in order to arrest them or has pointed or aimed their firearm, a measure officers often take for their safety in high-risk traffic and other high-risk encounters that may involve armed suspects. In fact, such actions can deter suspects from resisting and thus prevent more serious uses of force. If officers are deterred from pointing a gun in dangerous situations because they fear it will affect future promotions, it could imperil their lives.

Indeed, in many of the cases involving the non-promoted officer, this officer had simply aimed or pointed his firearm, Moeller said, likely for his safety.

That does NOT mean that the officer laid a hand on a subject. Moeller and other officers told WRN that the non-promoted officer is regarded as a very proactive cop, and they worry that the FPC’s action will incentivize officers to NOT do proactive policing, which has already plunged dramatically because of the draconian requirements of the ACLU-driven Collins Agreement.

See the MPD’s use of force policy here: 460-USEOFFORCE.

It says officers must file a use of force report if they point a firearm at a person, use a baton to strike a subject or animal, use pepper spray or a taser, discharge a firearm, conduct a blood draw, use focused strikes, diffused strikes or “decentralizations to the ground,” or when there is an injury from any type of force.

According to a 2023 report on MPD use of force, of the 2,285 incidents that year, “1,333 involved displaying and/or pointing a firearm only, the categories of force made reportable in 2020.” In 877 of the 946 incidents involving a person, a person was arrested, the report says. How common is this? When “‘pointing and/or display of a firearm only’ incidents are included in the calculation, 19.2% of arrests involved the use of force in 2023,” the report notes. Only 16 officers discharged their firearms that year, and only 22 incidents resulted in investigations. This is why officers are deeply concerned if reports that didn’t result in disciplinary action are now being used to deny promotions.

“As a union, that’s what we are concerned about. If they are going to do this, then officers are going to say, ‘Why should I be proactive?’” Moeller told WRN.

We are withholding the non-promoted officer’s name to protect his reputational privacy.

Moeller said the FPC also asked the officer about reports that are supposed to be non-disciplinary corrective actions. Officers told WRN that they get these reports for extremely minor things. Moeller said they are required by the Collins Agreement. As a result of that agreement, traffic stops and field interviews plummeted.

MPD officers have to file the reports, called NDCAs, if they “screw up one line on it,” said Moeller. As a result, “A lot of cops won’t do them at all. They won’t do a traffic stop because of it. They become like firemen and sit around and wait for a call and go to it.”

A Milwaukee police officer told us, “You also can’t fight or appeal NDCAs as a cop. You can get them for typing in the wrong date, wrong CAD number, not adding every single cop on scene to the report, or submitting the form a day late.” Officers were told these are “non-disciplinary” corrective actions so they are very upset they would factor into a promotion. That officer asked that his name not be used because he fears retaliation from the force.

He added that the promotion denial “is going to cause people to stop being proactive even more than just the ACLU (Collins Agreement) because they hand out NDCAs like it’s trick or treat candy to proactive cops.”

Explained that officer: “I consider myself pretty proactive and anytime you chase a car or chase someone on foot it’s 99% of the time going to end in us pointing our firearm.”

He called the non-promoted officer “a solid cop who would be a great boss.”

“What they don’t understand is, he’s an active officer. If you’re at a high-risk traffic stop, you’re pulling your gun out. At MPD, every time you pull your gun out, it’s considered use of force,” Moeller agreed. “He’s always been a very active officer. He’s in a special car.”

Moeller said the union lost a court case involving a promotion denial in the past, so it’s unlikely they could prevail in court. He said the union asked Chief Jeffrey Norman to push the FPC to change its mind regarding this specific officer, but he declined. Moeller later clarified that the MPA spoke to the chief of staff on the matter, not Norman himself. WRN contacted MPD and FPC for comment on the denial but didn’t hear back. We have also filed an open records request for the officer’s “use of force” reports.

We obtained the letter that Norman sent to the Fire and Police Commission seeking to promote seven officers to sergeant on Jan. 16. That list includes the officer in question.

Norman wrote in the letter that the promotion would fill existing vacancies in the department starting on January 19.

“These members were put through a timely internal vetting process wherein the members’ entire records were reviewed, including disciplines, open and closed investigations, administrative matters (e.g. use of force reports, squad accidents, criminal investigations, citizen complaints, fitness and history with the Fire and Police Commission,” the chief wrote. “I certify that these members are in good standing with the Department suitable for promotion consistent with my statutory duties.”

That wasn’t good enough for the civilian FPC, according to Donovan.

“The officer involved, I’m told, has a stellar record. He has received awards in the past and is proactive at a time when Milwaukee desperately needs proactive officers who are true public servants,” Donovan added.

“Especially at a time when MPD is dangerously understaffed, morale amongst officers is at its lowest level, all while crime and disorder run rampant. We ought to be thanking God we have brave men and women like this officer serving our community. Suffice to say, coming from this public official, I can assure the Fire and Police Commission they haven’t heard the end of this issue.”

The department is already struggling with staffing levels; the number of sworn officers plummeted by 26% in Milwaukee since the mid-1990s.

“FPC is garbage. Great cop. Earned the promotion,” a person wrote on Donovan’s comment thread. “And people wonder why Milwaukee struggles to find quality replacements for the wave of officers leaving the force in droves,” wrote another.

“So very very sad. Someone who puts his life on the line each shift and does commendable work and gets turned down for promotion. That sure sends a negative message to other officers who are trying to honorably do their jobs to make Milwaukee a safer place. Shame on you Fire and Police Commission,” another person wrote.

Retired MPD commander Glenn Frankovis chimed in on Donovan’s comment thread. “Thanks for standing up for good cops Bob. There’s nothing worse than working for people who don’t support you when you’re doing your job. You’ve always been there for the cops. Too bad the same can’t be said for the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission,” he wrote.

The Executive Director of the FPC is Leon Todd, a former public defender named to the position by then Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.

Commissioners are appointed by the Milwaukee mayor, who is now Cavalier Johnson. The commissioners are:

• • Miriam Horwitz, an employment lawyer and former deputy city attorney.

• • Bree Spencer, a UWM lecturer who is “Senior Program Manager on Policing at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a legacy civil rights organization” and who worked with Safe & Sound.

• • Dana World-Patterson, the founder of a non-profit and chair of a human trafficking task force.

• • LaNelle Ramey, who is involved with the Boys & Girls Club.

• • Ruben Burgos, a former MPD lieutenant and detective who is a UWM lecturer.

• • Ramon Evans, who has worked as an MPS principal.

• • Christopher Snyder, a former Milwaukee deputy fire chief.

• • Jeff Spence, who served as the Equity and Inclusion Officer for the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD).