Wauwatosa Police Chief Interviews: See How Candidates Answered

WAUWATOSA, WI — The three final candidates running for chief of the Wauwatosa Police Department were interviewed by the Wauwatosa Police and Fire Commission officials in a virtual public forum Monday.

Jeffrey Norman, David Salazar and James MacGillis were all asked 10 questions by PFC officials that spanned topics such as community-based policing, mental health, transparency and accountability.

Dominic Leone, commission president, said there were over 90 questions submitted from the public.

The full list of questions were:

• Introductions and backgrounds of each candidate.
• How do you intend on using data, whether from body worn cameras and other sources, to ensure transparency, accountability and efficiency in the department?
• Please describe how you define community-based policing and provide examples on how you have implemented these concepts.
• A local media outlet reported that armed robberies in Wauwatosa were up 116 percent from this time last year. What proactive steps would you take to prevent these types of crimes before they occur?
• It has been publicized that morale is low within the Wauwatosa Police Department, like due to a year of political tensions, protests and calls for defunding the police. If selected as next Chief of Police, what steps would you take to improve morale?
• What are of policing is in greatest need of reform? Give an example of how you implemented an effective change in your department.
• What measures would you use to evaluate the police department for effectiveness in crime reduction, community engagement and officers' safety and well-being?
• There is a lot of national attention surrounding the importance of mental health. What are your thoughts on the mental health and crisis intervention in policing and what steps would you take to address it in Wauwatosa? Who would you engage?
• How would you balance people's right to free speech and peaceful assembly with concerns for safety, resident complaints and interference with business operations?

All three candidates have either worked for or currently work for the Milwaukee Police Department.

A survey was opened to the public after the interview and ended on Wednesday afternoon. The city has posted the interview online for the public to review.

Transparency and accountability

The question was centered around using data, like from body camera footage, to ensure transparency and accountability in the department.

Norman said that body cameras, in combination with training and policy, were a way to get an objective look at incidents. "When it comes to body-worn cameras, it's important to be able to utilize that for the transparency of interacting with the community," he said. "When there are incidents, especially of a controversial nature, it's important to get that body camera information to the public as soon as practical to show the level of what happened in that situation."

Norman said that body cameras were a must for progressive and forward-thinking departments.

Salazar said that use of force data, squad car crashes and body camera footage must be used for an early warning system to alert police supervisors about issues to be intervened in.

He said that the process of getting body cameras to the public must be streamlined. "That video's going to be on social media. We as police leaders need to utilize that (body camera) technology to get that video out to the public so we can drive the narrative, so we can explain what happened and answer those important questions," Salazar said.

MacGillis talked about education and understanding in the community to make the department more efficient.

MacGillis also said that body-worn cameras were a tool but not a "panacea" for transparency. He also said that it was necessary to pair footage with other pieces of data. "What we do in law enforcement is not always pretty, it's controversial," he said. "Having that level of transparency as soon as possible helps to develop understanding."

See also:

• Wauwatosa Police Department Reports High Turnover In Last Year
• Names Of Wauwatosa Police Chief Candidates Released
• Wauwatosa Police Officer Pulls Person From Parking Lot Ledge

Community-based policing

The candidates were then asked to define community-based policing and to provide examples on how they would implement those concepts.

Salazar defined community policing as a job shared by every person in the police department. "Every person who works in the police department needs to make conscious efforts to contact the public in a productive manner," he said. "The agency has to have a strategic point of how they're engage the community. What do we as the agency want to get out of that relationship and how do we build that relationship."

"People in your community live there, 24 hours a day and they have really good ideas of what needs to be done and how they want it done," he said, adding that police leaders would need to listen to and consider ideas of community members when developing enforcement strategies.

MacGillis said that citizens need to feel like they have a stake in how they are policed. He said that one strategy he approach as chief is to establish a community advisory board including him, a police commander and three members of the community. "The outcome will involve citizens having a voice directly involved in how we do business," he said. "Otherwise we will appear guilty in the eye of the public."

Norman defined community-based policing as "talking and listening" with members of the public. "What the leader shows to the members about how to engage, what the expectations are and we are all part of a team-based strategy of all being community engagement individuals," he said.

Mental health crisis intervention

The next question posted to candidates asked what their thoughts were on mental health and crisis intervention in policing.

Norman said that law enforcement has been the catch all in intervention situations.

"We need to make efforts to make a collaborative approach to the mental health crisis in our nation," he said. "As first responders we have a role for empathy, but there are some things that might not be in the law enforcement wheelhouse, especially for someone who's having a mental health crisis."

Norman suggested starting partnerships with Milwaukee Mental Health and Froedtert Hospital for their expertise. He also said that the department needed to figure out how to pull law enforcement back from being the first contact with people experiencing crises.

Salazar's answer overlapped with Norman's, suggesting police officers work with mental health workers as well. His proposal was to call upon the medical community in Wauwatosa and have a round table discussion to address crises.

After working as a crisis negotiator for years, Salazar said that he couldn't over-stress how important negotiation training would be for officers in the street.

"Not only to receive that training, but allow the opportunity to continually exercise those active listening skills to be able to bring people down from crisis and into problem solving," he said.

MacGillis mentioned his role as a drug intelligence officer and a responder to the overdose crisis. "Law enforcement is called out to people in crisis whether it's mental health crisis, or an addiction issue or a criminal event," he said. "It's a point of intersection that's not just a law enforcement concern."

MacGillis also said that de-escalation and working with mental health workers was essential. He also suggested working with substance abuse counselors and recovery coaches. "Knowing who to call on game day is essential to resolve those types of situations."

The city said that the Police and Fire Commission will interview the candidates again in the week of June 21. After that, the city will make a hiring decision.