Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission Regular Meeting – July 16, 2026

The Fire and Police Commission (FPC) held its regular meeting on July 16, 2026, preceded by a closed executive session. Commissioners Burgos, Evans, Fung, Schneider, Horwitz, and World Patterson were present; Commissioners Spence and Ramey were excused. The meeting covered elections, public comments, consent agenda, personnel actions, and a detailed update on vehicle pursuits and traffic safety.

Consent Calendar

• Approved minutes for July 2, 2026 meeting (Item 4).
• Approved requests for re‑exemption of an administrative specialist senior position (Item 5), eligible list for youth fleet apprentice (Item 6), classification study referral for youth carpenter apprentice (Item 7), and multiple appointments/promotions within the Department of Emergency Communications (DEC) and Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) (Items 8–16). All adopted by general consent without objection.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Tiffany Stark (community activist, member of Milwaukee Alliance Against Racial Political Repression, mental health social worker) urged the commission to adopt stricter vehicle pursuit policies. She noted July 16 is the two‑year anniversary of Samuel Sharp’s death during the RNC and the same date the “575” policy was released. She expressed frustration that MPD Chief Norman is “standing really tough” on pursuits and called for a middle ground focusing on violent crimes only. She reported that a police pursuit occurred at the intersection where a rally for pursuit reform was held on July 14.
• Shannon Fry (Milwaukee resident) described a troubling interaction with a City of Waukesha police officer in District 3 that she intervened in, which she believed involved stalking/harassment. She criticized MPD’s delayed response and the FPC’s complaint process, saying it took a week to file a report. She questioned the FPC’s effectiveness in holding police accountable.
• Amanda Merkway (Policy and Advocacy Director, ACLU of Wisconsin) raised concerns about Flock Safety ALPR cameras, citing recent incidents: an MPD internal affairs detective charged with misuse, the LAPD letting its Flock contract expire, and Racine officers under investigation for misuse. She questioned MPD’s access to FUSIS and Axon’s AI‑powered image search, and called for standard operating procedures and transparent audit trails.
• Unnamed speaker (frequent commenter) asked for audits of guns leaving police stations, questioned why two officers are in patrol cars for traffic safety, and requested investigation into a “calling in injured” clause in the police contract. He also noted that Alderman Jackson changed the format of his committee to obscure $25,000 claims by injured officers.
• Chaplain Julie Kirchy (Milwaukee County resident) drew an analogy between Chief Norman’s training trip to Israel and a hypothetical scenario of a 1930s chief training with the Nazi SS. She urged the commission to add a citizens’ presentation on the chief’s trip to a future agenda.
• Bridget [last name not given] (activist) supported Kirchy’s comments, reported obtaining a list of MPD officers with Flock access (including three on the Brady list), and criticized the light sentence for former officer Ayala (probation and $500 fine) for misuse of surveillance technology.

Discussion Items

• Election of Chair and Vice Chair (Items 1–2): Commissioner Horwitz was nominated and elected chair; Commissioner Fung was nominated and elected vice chair, both for one‑year terms. Votes were unanimous.
• Vehicle Pursuit Data Presentation (Item 21): Assistant Chief Craig Sarna presented a six‑month update (January–June 2026). Key points:
  • Reckless driving calls for service down 33% in the first six months of 2026 compared to 2025; arrests down; citations down 2%.
  • Vehicle tows for reckless driving: 102 in 2026 year‑to‑date under the new ordinance 101‑24.9.
  • Total vehicle pursuits: 397 through June 2026 (on track for 794 for the year, an 18% decrease from 2025). Non‑pursuits decreased by nearly 50%.
  • 78% of pursuits were for reckless driving offenses.
  • Crash and injury data: one‑third of pursuits resulted in a crash; 8 officers injured; zero suspect/third‑party fatalities in 2026 year‑to‑date. Since 2016, 58 pursuit‑related fatalities out of 646 total traffic fatalities (9%).
  • Sarna presented a “what if” analysis: if the FPC’s rule changes had been in place for all of 2026, 49% of reckless driving pursuits (where officers stopped the vehicle for another reason and then the vehicle fled recklessly) would not have occurred.
  • Plans to add pursuit‑related dashboards to MPD website and to deploy Star Chase technology on 16 vehicles and Haas digital alerts on 80+ vehicles (expected fall 2026).
• Changes to MPD Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) (Item 22): Inspector Sharonda Grant presented updates to SOP 113 (crimes against children – updating safe haven law to 30 days), SOP 400 (off‑duty/extra duty – adding IFMLA, extending cancellation notice to 5 days, adding waiver for justifiable cancellations), SOP 460 (use of force – adding duty to intervene for state, local, and federal officers), SOP 480 (military courtesy – removing requirement to stand at attention, updating honor guard requirements), and traffic safety SOI (removing photokite camera).
• Classification Reports (Items 23–25): Approved creation of youth carpenter apprentice in MFD (Item 23), new budget manager position and reclassification of police services specialist investigator in MPD, and reclassification in DEC (Item 24), and FLSA changes for crime analyst series and crime and intelligence manager (Item 25).
• Executive Director’s Report (Item 26): Staffing and operations report filed without discussion.
• DEC Promotions and Appointments (Items 27–35): Approved promotion of Andrew Cochrane to emergency communications manager (Item 27). Approved promotions of five dispatchers to ECO‑4 contingent on completion of training (Item 28). Approved promotions of 10 dispatchers to ECO‑2 (Item 29). Approved reappointment of a business intelligence analyst (Item 30). Overturned demotion of two emergency communications managers (Items 31–32) – votes were unanimous in favor of overturning. Placed on file appointments mooted by those decisions (Items 33, 35). Approved appointment to records analyst senior (Item 34) for an individual who voluntarily demoted.
• Fire Department Appointments (Items 36–39): Approved appointments of 49 firefighters (plus one reinstated), 6 contingent firefighters, 28 fire cadets, and 16 contingent fire cadets. All votes unanimous.
• Police Department Appointments (Item 40–41): Approved promotion of Lucas Scotland to crime analyst 3. Approved probation extension of a police officer (the officer did not appear to be heard).

Key Outcomes

• Elected Leadership: Commissioner Horwitz elected Chair; Commissioner Fung elected Vice Chair (both unanimous).
• Demotions Overturned: The board voted unanimously (6‑0) to overturn the demotions of two emergency communications managers (Items 31–32).
• Appointments Approved: All personnel actions on the consent agenda (Items 4–16) and routine appointments/promotions (Items 27–30, 34, 36–41) were approved, with one abstention on Item 29 (Commissioner World Patterson).
• Vehicle Pursuit Data Received: Presentation noted, no formal action taken; MPD will publish online dashboards and implement pursuit‑mitigation technologies.
• SOP Updates Acknowledged: Commission accepted updates to five MPD standard operating procedures.
• Next Steps: MPD to deploy Star Chase and Haas technologies in fall 2026; FPC to consider further pursuit policy analysis after receiving more data.