MILWAUKEE -- It may be the toughest job in Milwaukee and the man who has held it for ten years is ready to retire.
Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn announced at a news conference Monday that he will retire from the Milwaukee Police Department on February 16.
“Ten years. A lot has happened. Much has been accomplished. Much has been achieved. It’s a good benchmark and it’s time. Time to say thank you. Time to say goodbye,” Flynn said Monday.
It's been a few days since the Police Chief's big announcement and he has agreed to sit down only with 414ward to talk about that big decision.
Chief Flynn is known as a data-driven chief who believes in community policing.
But being police chief also has it burdens. Perhaps one of Chief Flynn’s most poignant moments came after a raucous fire and police commission meet to talk about the fatal police shooting of Dontre Hamilton.
Flynn was at the meeting when he learned - by phone - about a little girl named Laylah Petersen who had been shot and killed while in her home by gun carrying criminals
Here's how the Chief responded when people questioned why he was looking at his phone during a heated commission meeting. The Chief also looks back at this moment, several years later in the video below.
It's up to the Fire and Police Commission to hire the next chief of the Milwaukee Police Department.
But others will want a voice in the process – including Milwaukee Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton.
He discusses his concerns in this segment of 414ward...
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