The future of Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales is up in the air after a contentious executive session meeting of the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission Thursday afternoon, "The Dan O'Donnell Show" has learned.
Morales, who was given a four-year contract extension in December, was set to undergo a six-month performance review during an open session meeting immediately following the closed session Thursday, but Fire and Police Commission Chairman Steven DeVougas abruptly canceled that meeting.
Multiple sources tell "The Dan O'Donnell Show" that DeVougas is attempting to remove Morales from office and will use a hastily-called public meeting on Monday evening to do so. Morales told reporters following the closed-session meeting on Thursday that he did not know whether his job was in jeopardy, but sources indicate that he is operating on the assumption that the Fire and Police Commission wants him gone.
The only item on the agenda for Monday's meeting is "a resolution to vote and issue directives for Police Chief Alfonso Morales," and it is believed that these directives will form the basis of the effort to remove him.
Morales has hired an attorney to represent him in the matter.
"I don’t have a personal opinion on whether the chief should or should not keep his job," DeVougas told reporters after Thursday's meeting. "You guys will have to wait until Monday."
When asked what he thought about Morales' job performance thus far, DeVougas would say only, "That's between me and the chief."
"All answers will be revealed on Monday," he said.
Sources say DeVougas is livid about the results of a Fire and Police Commission investigation into his conduct over the past year, which concluded that he violated City of Milwaukee ethics rules when he represented a prominent real estate developer accused of sexual assault. Morales also told the investigator that DeVougas had pressured him to fire a police officer involved in the controversial arrest of Milwaukee Bucks guard Sterling Brown by promising to support Morales' bid for a new contract if Morales would fire said officer.
Morales said he rejected this offer and DeVougas started canceling meetings in which Morales' contract renewal was to be discussed. Eventually, just weeks before Morales' term was set to expire in January, two other Fire and Police Commission members called for a meeting and Morales' contract was renewed. DeVougas was one of two commissioners to vote against the reappointment.
Sources say DeVougas was furious that someone had leaked a video of the interrogation of the real estate developer that DeVougas was representing to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which published a story critical of DeVougas' involvement in the case. DeVougas blamed Morales for leaking the video or allowing it to be leaked in an effort to embarrass DeVougas or force his resignation.
DeVougas has denied all wrongdoing and has refused to step down, saying he has "a good relationship with the [Milwaukee] Common Council" and implying that the Council would protect him if Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett would try to force him to resign. Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission members are nominated by the Mayor and confirmed by the Common Council.
The Fire and Police Commission's investigation did not determine who leaked the video.