MILWAUKEE — Separate crowds gathered outside City Hall on Monday night both in protest and in support of Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales.
The Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission met to discuss Chief Morales on Monday night. Morales will keep his job, but the Commission gave him several directives. If he doesn't follow those, he could face consequences.
People banged on the doors of City Hall, trying to get inside to listen to the meeting. They had to watch it outside instead.
Crowds on one side gathered because they want Morales to be fired. They also want Officer Michael Mattioli to be fired as well. Mattioli is the off-duty officer who has been charged in the death of 25-year-old Joel Acevedo. The Fire and Police Commission referred disciplinary charges for Mattioli last week.
Some were disappointed to find out that Morales will keep his job.
"Chief Morales ain't did his job, he ain't working for the people, he working for the police," said activist Henry Lee. "Fire Chief Morales, that’s what we want."
"I been to maybe almost one hundred fire and police commission meetings. We got Chief Flynn out of town, we got Sheriff Clarke out of town," said activist Samuel Alford.
Other people gathered in support of Morales, including former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke.
Josephine Jones said she's a Milwaukee Police Officer. She said she wants people to know more about Morales before they call him out.
"He is the best chief that we have had," Jones said. "I’ve been on the department 24 years."
She said she agrees her department could make some changes, but she doesn't want to see her city so divided.
"Until this city comes together, how are we going to have peace?" Jones said. "It's not Chief Morales that has not brought peace to this city, this has been going on forever, since I was a little girl."
