The chief of the Milwaukee Police Department is the head of the Milwaukee Police Department. The position was established in 1855 by mayor James B. Cross to replace the position of city sheriff. He appointed William Beck, a former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, as the first chief, a position he held until his resignation in 1861; he later served two more non-consecutive terms. The mayor directly appointed the position, which caused the position to have a spoils system. The Fire and Police Commission was founded in 1885 with the sole authority to select and remove chiefs, replacing the previous system. In 1888, the commission fired Florian J. Ries, who had been appointed by Mayor Emil Wallber, and selected John T. Janssen, who served as chief until his resignation in 1921.
The department's first Hispanic chief was Phillip Arreola, who became chief in 1989following Arreola, Arthur L. Jones became the first African American chief and Nannette Hegerty became the first female chief in 1996 and 2003, respectively. The current chief is Jeffrey B. Norman, who entered office in December 2020.
Chiefs
+ Chiefs of the Milwaukee Police Department # Name Tenure start Tenure end Notes 1st 1855 2nd Also spelt "Johnston" 3rd 1862 1863 4th** 1863 1878 5th 1878 1880 6th** 1880 1882 7th 1882 1884 Also spelt "Wasson" 8th 1884 1885 9th 1885 1888 Fired by the Police and Fire Commission 10th 1888 1921 First chief appointed by the Police and Fire Commission 11th 1921 1936 12th 1936 1945 13th 1945 1957 14th 1957 1964 15th 1964 1984 16th 1984 17th First Hispanic chief 18th First African American chief 19th First female chief 20th 21st Acting until 2020; fired 22nd Acting until November 15, 2021
Notes
References
Works cited