Names of fired, suspended officers submitted to Police, Fire Commission
MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn
brought the names of five officers he’s fired and suspended recently to the Milwaukee Police and Fire Commission
Thursday, May 17th. Those officers are off the streets, but could still fight
for their job.
The names of cops
caught breaking the rules headed to the Police and Fire Commission Thursday
evening. Chief Flynn submitted the names.
“This is a
high-performing department that does right by its community. Just as we need to
recognize outstanding police work, we need to take responsibility for poor
police work and impose appropriate sanctions,” Chief Flynn said.
Three officers
have been fired, including Officer Yoron Whitfield, who was caught drunk behind
the wheel at 8:00 a.m. in February. It was his second offense.
Officer Richard
Schoen is accused of excessive force, after he allegedly pulled a woman out of
his squad car by her hair, and punched her in the face and gut.
Co-workers say
Sergeant Christopher Gull was showing off naked photos of his ex-girlfriend,
who is a former officer – even showing them to police aides.
Two female
officers were suspended for 30 days without pay.
Officer Gina Metz
blew over twice the legal limit when stopped in her car off-duty in February,
and Officer Lynn Vandenbush, who was caught nearly double the legal alcohol
limit while driving off-duty in December.
“Right now, we’ve
had a few police disciplines in a row that were somewhat concerning, but they
weren’t part of a genuine problem, and they were not connected to each other,”
Chief Flynn said.
Chief Flynn says
these firings and suspensions are the exceptions, not the norm in the Milwaukee Police Department, pointing
out over 80 officers that received awards for exceptional work earlier this
week.
“I want the public
to know that we pay attention to our work. We are proud of our work. When our
work falls short of our standards, we take appropriate action,” Chief Flynn
said.
Mike Crivello with
the Milwaukee Police Association
says all of the officers have the right to appeal, and fight to potentially get
their job back. That is a process that would lead right back to the Milwaukee Police and Fire Commission.
Chief Flynn was
given his own review by the Police and Fire Commission Thursday behind closed
doors, and Flynn said it went very well. The chief’s review is something that
happens four times per year.