FPC offers Acting Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman chance to apply for permanent job

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee is one step closer to hiring a permanent police chief.

The Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission on Thursday, Sept. 2, approved giving Acting Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman to apply for the job once again, this time as the only applicant.

Norman did not make the final three candidates during the FPC's last search to replace demoted Chief Alfonso Morales.

That search was put on hold after Morales sued for his job back, and ultimately scrapped after the FPC decided to restart following the new appointments of nearly half the members.

"Stability, it's a word I've heard many times from members of the public," said FPC Chair Ed Fallone.

Fallone recommended the commission offer Acting Chief Norman the chance to apply once again to be the city's top cop, this time as the only applicant.

"We have been under an acting chief, for some time, and I believe the commission needs to settle the issue," said Fallone.

The commission decided that would be the quickest route to getting a permanent chief in place quickly, deciding against conducting another national or statewide search for applicants.

"It took four months from the start of the search until a vote took place," said FPC Executive Director Leon Todd.

The commission will require Norman to provide a resume, cover letter, and other documents as well as attend various community functions as it gathers information on whether it will offer him the permanent position. Commissioner Everett Cocroft advocated the commission decide Thursday to offer a new four year contract, instead of  just filling the remaing time left on Morales' contract, which ends in January 2024.

"We went through the two year route a couple times, and we saw where that got us, we should do four years," said Cocroft.

The commission held off on that decision, deciding instead to determine the contract length if it offers Norman the permanent job.

The commission is trying to move quickly, but commissioners made clear they want to gather a lot of community feedback.

If it doesn't feel Norman is the right fit for the job, it will reopen the search on a larger scale.