The Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission (FPC) held its regular meeting on July 2, 2026, at 4:36 PM in City Hall, Room 301-B. All nine commissioners were present. The meeting included extensive public comment, approval of routine personnel and administrative actions, reports on community engagement and physical readiness testing, and a new standard operating instruction for school resource officers. Closed session was held to consider personnel matters. The meeting adjourned at 8:20 PM.
Twenty speakers addressed the commission, most concerning the Milwaukee Police Department’s collaboration with Lockheed Martin and its subsidiary Derco Aerospace. Key points:
10. PLECET National Conference Debrief – Community Outreach Coordinator Carlos Martinez Rivera presented lessons from the 2026 Professionalizing Law Enforcement-Community Engagement Training (PLECET) conference. Key themes: declining public trust, the “Five Ps” framework (Purpose, People, Place, Program, Promotion), involving community partners early, and using AI to support (not replace) engagement. He recommended adopting the Five Ps, identifying community champions, exploring multilingual platforms, and using the Council of Criminal Justice AI decision framework. Commissioners supported the framework and asked about integrating MPD, MFD, and DEC; creating a shared vision; and preparing accessible materials for alders on vehicle pursuit policy. The communication was placed on file.
11. Physical Readiness Test (PRT) Update – Executive Director Leon Todd reported that the request for a waiver from LESB standards was denied. As an alternative, for the July 11-12 PRT, candidates who do not pass every event but achieve a “contingent passing score” on a three-point scale will be allowed to move forward in the hiring process conditionally. They must attend at least two MPD fit camps and pass the PRT before or on the first day of the academy. Commissioners praised the creative approach; the communication was placed on file.
12. HR and Business Operations Follow-Up Report – Andrea Knickerbacker (Employee Relations) presented three recommendations: increasing the pay range for a Fire Department Business Finance Manager and for two DEC positions to stay in lockstep with the HR Analyst Senior classification. The resolution was adopted unanimously (9-0).
13. MPD Standard Operating Procedures/School Resource Officer SOI – Assistant Chief Sarno presented a new SOI for the SRO program, required by CALEA accreditation. The SOI is based on the MOU with MPS and the SRO posting. Key points: SROs are not to enforce school disciplinary policies, are to be familiar with MPS codes, and have duties including law enforcement and community referrals. Commissioners asked about data on seclusion/restraint, Miranda rights, strip searching, confiscation of items, and the impact of not assigning officers to specific schools. A fall update presentation was requested. The communication was placed on file.
14. DEC Probation Extensions – Two extensions for Emergency Communications Officer II. Adopted unanimously.
15. Promotion to Court Liaison Officer – Held for closed session interview. After closed session, the promotion was approved unanimously (9-0).
16. Promotions to Crime Analyst II (2) – Approved unanimously (9-0).
17. Appointments to Police Aide (17) – Approved unanimously.
18. Reappointment of Former Police Officer – The chief requested a waiver of Rule 13, Section 1 (requiring former members to have passed probation). The waiver and reappointment were approved unanimously (9-0).
19. Probation Extensions for Police Officer (2) – One officer (JN) was approved immediately; the other (LM) was held for closed session. After closed session, the extension was approved unanimously.
20. Probation Extensions for Police Sergeant (2) – Approved unanimously.
21. Probation Extension for Police Records Specialist III – Approved unanimously.
Anything else you want to say this before we go into committee? Oh wait, are there any neighbors present to testify? Please let the record reflect that there are no neighbors present to testify. Is there any last thing you want to say to us before we go on to committee? Just like a thank the committee for giving me the chance to speak. Alright, we are in committee. Do we have a motion? Prove approval. The motion by Ottoman Brower is approval. Are there any objections to that motion? Harry Nine, so ordered. Good luck. Thank you very much. No further business. Um with that we are going to be able to get it early. Okay. Okay. Is it a little menu all here? Yeah. Okay. You need to do it. Oh, no. Okay. Okay. This is the July two, twenty twenty six regular meeting of the fire and police commission. Present our Commissioners Burgos, Evans, Fong, Remy, Schneider, Spence, Spencer, and myself, Commissioner Horowitz. Commissioner World Patterson is expected in due course. And then we don't have Jay. But this is her last uh full FPC board meeting. And uh just because of the uh the technical rules as to how uh terms run, uh it expires uh on July thirteenth uh of this year. Um this is a uh a big loss for the commission, although uh I do want to say that um during this time uh you know when I first started uh in early twenty twenty-one, I think that uh uh the commission was going through a uh fair to say a transitional period, and there had been uh it was at a near crisis level, if not actually a crisis level when I came uh on board in early 2021, and we had a few uh commission new commissioner appointments before Commissioner Spencer. But uh, she was part of uh I think the the initial core group of new commissioners that that really helped to turn things around and write the FPC ship, so to speak. And I I do just want to say too, uh, particularly about Commissioner Spencer. She has done this job with energy, intelligence, dedication. Uh she has really uh done it with her whole heart and put a lot of time and effort. Uh, and uh she is one of the reasons why I am so proud to be uh a part of this amazing team as executive director. Uh I don't think there's, I think it's fair to say, I don't think there's any uh commissioner that uh works harder than Commissioner uh Bruce Spencer. Uh she's been instrumental in pushing forth major policy changes like the video release policy, uh the uh um the vehicle pursuit policy that's still pending uh with the Common Council, and just countless other uh initiatives and efforts. She has done more ride-alongs with both police and fire than I think any other commissioner that I've seen. Uh, almost to uh uh I wonder how she does it all with her uh her personal life, her uh her private life, uh her professional life, and then in addition to all that uh everything that she's done for the fire and police commission. Again, uh this is gonna be a big loss for uh the FPC, but uh she has decided uh to move on now that she's completed her term, which is uh of course completely reasonable. Um but I just want to say uh thank you so much for all everything you've done over the last uh uh four four years and uh a handful of months. Um we wish you the best. You're gonna be sorely missed, but thank you so much. Thanks, Lee. Commissioner Bruce Spencer. It's been an honor. Uh let's go. All right. So we will proceed with the agenda.