As Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales met with the city’s Fire and Police Commission (FPC) in a closed-door hearing about his retainment recently, some 200 individuals—including grass-roots activists, local political figures and citizens—held a rally outside city hall to voice their displeasure with Morales’ performance as chief and call for his ouster.
The chief has been under scrutiny by the FPC and faced criticism by other city officials on issues ranging from the MPD’s use of tear gas during the Milwaukee demonstrations protesting the George Floyd murder at the hands of a Minneapolis officer, to the discipline of an off-duty MPD officer, Michael Mattioli, who has been charged with the murder of Joel Acevedo. Morales has not fired Mattioli, nor has he taken any disciplinary action against an officer who knelt on the neck of a face-down, prone protestor during the Floyd protests.
Protesters continued to call for the “defunding” of the MPD, with those funds going to social service agencies to deal with the myriad of issues and challenges facing community’s of color as it relates to housing, jobs and business creation, education, and health. They also noted the necessity for change within the culture of policing, an issue that protestors in U.S. cities where protests have happened are also calling for.
During the closed hearing, the FPC presented a list of 11 policy directives Morales must act upon or face disciplinary action or terminatioin.—Photos by Pat A. Robinson•Sources for this article: MJS, UrbanMilwaukee.com
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