Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales Demoted To Captain

MILWAUKEE, WI — Members of the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission demoted Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales to the rank of Captain Thursday after critics accused him of a series of missteps during his time as the head of the Milwaukee police department.

Commissioners appointed Assistant Chief Michael J. Brunson to the role of acting chief. The commission unanimously approved Morales' demotion and Brunson's appointment Thursday night. Commissioners gave Brunson the ability to name his own command staff, pending commission approval.

Among the missteps cited by critics against Morales were the multiple times officers deployed tear gas to combat protesters engaged in demonstrations following George Floyd's death, the arrest of Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown, the arrest of activist Vaun Mayes and Morales' failure to terminate officer Michael Mattioli, who now faces a reckless homicide charge in the death of Joel Acevedo.

The Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission met in closed session Thursday afternoon to consider Morales' fate, and later convened in open session to cast a formal vote on the last-minute resolution aimed at disciplining or dismissing the chief.

Commissioners weighed a resolution to vote on "the dismissal, demotion, licensing, or discipline" of Morales. The resolution was added to the agenda on Wednesday in advance of Thursday's meetings.

According to a Washington Post report, Morales' relationship with commissioners "has deteriorated since it named him to the post in February 2018, particularly over questions about how the department has policed Black communities."

“They are gunning for his job right now,” said Dale Bormann, president of the Milwaukee Police Association said in a WTMJ report.

Directives Issued To Morales

In July, the commission ordered that Morales must comply with a long list of departmental demands or face possible termination. Those demands were part of a series of directives handed down by the commission.

Among the directives the commission required of Morales, some of them include:

• Implementing a mask policy for officers
• Partnering with local organizations and the commission on community-oriented policing strategies
• Producing and implementing a discipline matrix
• Appearing at all FPC full board and committee meetings “unless unavailable” and written notice submitted 24-hours in advance
• Copying the executive director on all communications with the commission
• Complying with all commission records requests regardless of the status of an investigation
• Explanation as to why seven investigators were fired in Feb. 2019.
• Providing details regarding the safeguarding of evidence
• Providing a public explanation on when tear gas is used
• Providing an update on the compliance with the American Civil Liberties Union settlement regarding its stop-and-frisk lawsuit
• Providing full audits and reports related to the incidents involving: the arrest of Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown in January 2018; the police shooting of Tara Davis; the arrest of activist Vaun Mayes on June 29, 2020.

"Failure to comply fully and promptly with these directives shall result in disciplinary action by the board, including discharge, suspension, or reduction in rank," the commission noted.

Complaints Piled Up Against Morales

The commission's actions in July were prompted after groups like Voces de la Frontera recently called for the chief’s firing. A letter from activist group The People’s Revolution criticized the chief's decision to not terminate Mattioli, who stands accused of killing Acevedo. Mattioli now faces a reckless homicide charge.

"When a police chief fails to terminate an officer who has committed murder, he demonstrates an egregious failure to lead. Mattioli, despite facing criminal charges for first-degree reckless homicide, continues to draw a paycheck from the Milwaukee Police Department. For months, Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales had the authority to act definitively on Mattioli’s employment; yet he didn't. He delayed, obstructed, haphazardly conducted a flawed internal investigation, and then threw his arms up in abdication when the Fire and Police Commission stepped in to begin what Morales had failed to do," reads a portion of the letter from The People’s Revolution.

In a joint statement by Alderwoman Chantia Lewis, Alderman Nik Kovac, Alderwoman Nikiya Dodd, Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs, Alderman Ashanti Hamilton, Alderman Russell W. Stamper, II and Alderman Khalif J. Rainey, they said that Morales "had too many failures."

They wrote:

The pattern of failed leadership by Police Chief Alfonso Morales is unmistakable and devastating, and we hope we will soon be moving on from his rocky tenure.

The Chief failed to discipline a police dispatcher after the dispatcher gave police officers the wrong address of a caller in 2018 who said he would murder a 15-year-old boy (the address did not exist and the boy’s body was found several days later).

The Chief failed to fire Officer Michael Mattioli for the off-duty chokehold death of Joel Acevedo, even though he had one month to do so before the Fire and Commission took over the disciplinary investigation. And he still has taken no disciplinary action against the officer who knelt on the neck of a face-down, prone protester near 6th and McKinley in the wake of the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis (he called it “justified”), and that officer, who took one knee off the back of someone's neck just long enough so that he could use the other knee to pummel that person's stomach, is still on duty.

That incident happened while so-called “less lethal” munitions - tear gas and rubber bullets - were being used to attempt to injure hundreds of peaceful protestors. Many of them were on their knees chanting “We are peaceful. Are you peaceful?” just before the barrage of chemical irritants and projectiles were intentionally fired. The Chief and his command staff have expressed no regret over that outrageous violation of our citizens' civil liberties, and have used an empty plastic water bottle that caused no injury to anyone as the primary evidence for why such shocking action was necessary.

Chief Morales, through his actions and words, has disrespected the Black Lives Matter peaceful protest movement and the demands of immigrants and their advocates.

When his department leaked videotape from an active sexual assault investigation - evidence that revealed his detectives had violated an agreement with Sojourner Truth House meant to protect victims - and that public revelation compromised the investigation and exposed the victim to unwanted publicity, the Chief was silent about the misdeeds of his department and instead attempted to use the illegally revealed information in order to publicly smear the reputation of his civilian oversight body at the very moment it was considering whether or not to reappoint him to a new term.

At a time when Milwaukee has needed a thoughtful and strong community-focused leader in the Chief’s office, unfortunately we have seen someone who has only repeatedly backed up his officers while failing to lead.

We have no confidence in Chief Morales and it’s time for him to go.

"We Can Do Better"

Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic, Alderman José G. Pérez and Alderwoman JoCasta Zamarripa issued the following joint statement:

We are supportive of the strong directives for change issued tonight by the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners. We expect Chief Morales' response to be positive, prompt,
and transparent.

We need a leader who will unite, not divide, our city. We need someone who will work with us closely to reallocate funds in order to improve the health and safety of all in our city. We need a person invested in building peace and making Milwaukee welcoming for all. We need a Chief who will listen to our community and consider the requests of peaceful protesters.

We stand with Voces de la Frontera, Black Lives Matter and all of the concerned constituents of our city who are demanding their voices be heard.

This is the way our city can thrive post pandemic, challenge systemic racism, change the culture within our police department, and protect our city.

This is the Milwaukee our community expects. This is the Milwaukee our community deserves. This is the Milwaukee we will continue to fight to achieve.

Support for Chief Morales

Despite public criticism toward Chief Morales, he received plenty of support in the preceding weeks. The Independent Business Association of Wisconsin said in statement that it believed Morales is uniquely qualified to lead Milwaukee’s Police Department and maintain law and order throughout the city during this turbulent time.

"Additionally, we encourage our peers in the business community, and challenge other business organizations to support Alfonso Morales as Milwaukee’s Police Chief," the association said.

The Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association also supported Morales.

"He is a dedicated public servant who is committed to making Milwaukee safe. Chief Morales has served his community and our association with dignity and honor. We support Al!" the association said via Twitter.

Milwaukee Police Association President Dale Bormann partnered with State Rep. Janel Brandtjen, State Sen. Alberta Darling, former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, along with a handful of other officers to show support for Morales.

“As a native of the city of Milwaukee, and having policed here for nearly 40 years, it pains me to see that the political class has crawled into bed with the devil–the cop haters–while turning their backs on the men and women of law enforcement who are doing what they can to maintain law and order,” former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke said.

In a statement, Milwaukee Alderman Mark Borkowski said he was absolutely dismayed with this seeming “runaway train” effort to remove Chief Morales:

“I recognize that there have been some mistakes, but the Chief Morales tenure has been very good as a whole. It is a very difficult job, one might say impossible, but the effort and expertise that Chief Morales has provided has helped guide our community through some very difficult times, including the sudden and tragic deaths of officers.

“We all have made errors, but will this possible removal of the Chief be in the best interests of our City? Where do we go from here?

“I sure hope I am wrong.”

• Bio of Chief Alfonso Morales

Original Reporting By Nikki Gaskins/Patch Staff