FPC Oversight and Accountability Committee Meeting Summary – May 26, 2026

The Fire and Police Commission (FPC) Oversight and Accountability Committee met on May 26, 2026, at 4:30 PM in City Hall, Room 301-B, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with remote viewing available via City Channel Live Stream 2. All five commissioners attended: Chair Ruben Burgos and Commissioners Miriam Horwitz, Christopher Snyder, Jeff Spence, and Krissie Fung. The agenda covered approval of the March 24, 2026 meeting minutes; a summary of 2026 citizen complaints; citizen complaint trials and referrals; a use-of-force statistical report; 911 call wait times; and MPD/MFD response times. No public comments were offered.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No members of the public appeared to comment. After Chair Burgos asked staff whether anyone was appearing virtually, he closed the public comment portion without testimony.

Discussion Items

• Citizen Complaint Report (Item 3): FPC staff presented a standalone summary of citizen complaint categories and dispositions received to date in 2026, noting it was nearly identical to the monthly report but allowed more time for review. Commissioner Horwitz asked to track complaints filed in Spanish or through the language line, and to identify the outcome categories of sustained complaints. Staff responded that complaints filed by MPD members are generally not disclosed to the department unless disclosure is needed, although the FPC uses the department's records system. Commissioner Burgos expressed concern that many complaints were referred to MPD rather than investigated by the FPC, saying complainants who file with the FPC generally do so deliberately and likely want the FPC to handle the matter. Only two complaints were referred to IED in the first quarter of 2026. Burgos also said that middle-case complaints should not be seen as lacking gravity.
• Citizen Complaint Trials – Clinical Program (Item 4, FPC 212545): Staff proposed exploring a clinical legal program with Marquette University or the University of Wisconsin to represent self-represented parties in citizen complaint trials. Staff noted that the FPC charges no filing fee and provides both sides with an electronic courtesy copy of the entire record, and that appellants are notified by email, when an appeal is filed, of their right to hire an attorney. Commissioner Burgos said: "I'm one who's in favor of continuing to research this and finding a resource to help those who quite frankly may not have the resources to help themselves." He described the arrangement as between the litigant and the clinical program, independent of the FPC, and cited past cases in which self-represented parties did not understand the structured nature of the hearing. Commissioners noted that police and fire personnel generally have union-provided attorneys, so the program would primarily help unrepresented complainants. No objections were raised; no vote was taken.
• Referrals for Citizen Complaint Trials (Item 5, FPC 212546): Chair Burgos explained that for non-disciplinary outcomes he has authority to order policy review or counseling, while suspensions of five days or less may be grieved but not appealed to the FPC Board. He described these middle cases as harder to decide and discussed a recent case in which investigators questioned whether enough follow-up occurred to support a good decision. The file was a communication file requiring no further action. Commissioners discussed whether the rules should be revisited after a clinical program is in place.
• Use of Force Report (Item 6): A use-of-force statistical report by Barbara Cooley was presented, comparing across years and aspects of use of force. The report did not include specific investigation outcomes; those are published in at least two other reports, including quarterly discipline reports. One commissioner noted that in all but one incident in which an officer received a reprimand, the allegations were not sustained, unfounded, exonerated, or resulted in a finding of no code of conduct violation. Commissioner Burgos requested more information about incidents in which officers fired their weapons at a person but did not hit them, since those incidents still constitute use of deadly force.
• 911 Call Wait Times (Item 7, FPC 212548): Staff communicated the Q4 2025 and Q1 2026 911 call wait time reports. The item was informational; no further action was required.
• MPD and MFD Response Times (Item 8, FPC 212549): Staff communicated Q1 and Q2 2025 Milwaukee Police Department and Milwaukee Fire Department response times. Fire travel time was reported as about two minutes and change, similar to the previous two quarters. A commissioner asked whether DEC or another agency has established a response-time standard. A commissioner also noted that response districts include many different neighborhoods. Commissioner Burgos asked whether response times could be analyzed at the neighborhood level, noting that residents in predominantly African American sections of the city may perceive police response as slower; he said he did not know what the data would reveal but that it was worth examining.

Key Outcomes

• Motion by Jeff Spence, seconded by Christopher Snyder, to approve the March 24, 2026 meeting minutes under FPC 212543. The motion passed 5–0, with all commissioners voting Aye.
• The citizen complaint report (Item 3) was received as a communication file; no further action required.
• The citizen complaint trial referral communication (FPC 212546) required no further action at this time.
• The 911 call wait time report (FPC 212548) and the MPD/MFD response time report (FPC 212549) were received as communications.
• The committee expressed no objections to staff continuing to research a clinical legal program; no formal vote was taken.
• Motion to adjourn made by Miriam Horwitz, seconded by Christopher Snyder.

Notes on Source Discrepancies

• The agenda lists Miriam Horwitz as Vice-Chair, while the minutes list Krissie Fung as Vice-Chair. The transcript spells names as Fong, Horowitz, and Schneider. Spellings vary across documents.
• The agenda lists the meeting start time as 4:30 PM; the system timestamp for the meeting indicates 2026-05-26T10:30:00+00:00. This summary uses the agenda's 4:30 PM start time.