Ousted Milwaukee police chief reaches settlement with city

Listen to this article

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Ousted Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales has reached a tentative settlement with city officials over his demotion, city officials said on Tuesday.

Mayor Tom Barrett, Common Council President Cavalier Johnson and Alderman Ashanti Hamilton said in a statement that the city and Morales had reached a deal. Barrett said the deal amounts to $626,000.

Morales’ attorney, Franklyn Gimbel, didn’t immediately respond to a message Tuesday evening.

Morales retired in August 2020 after the city’s police commission demoted him following turmoil over racial justice protests and complaints of distrust within the department.

The commission was upset with his orders directing officers to use tear gas and pepper spray to disperse people during protests over George Floyd’s death last spring and summer. Morales also drew the commission’s ire when he refused a demand from the panel’s chairman to fire one of the officers who arrested former Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown for parking illegally in 2018.

Morales sued for damages.

Milwaukee County Judge Christopher Foley ruled in May that Morales should be reinstated on July 3 unless his attorneys and the city settled the lawsuit. The two sides have been pushing the return date back as they continued to hammer out an agreement, and set Aug. 1 as the new deadline for final approval by the city’s Common Council.