Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman defended his $60,000 pay raise on Tuesday, saying that he works hard and earned the massive increase, but he refused to advocate for back pay for his officers, which has been a sticking point in settling contract negotiations, which have stalled for 2.5 years.
“I sometimes work, maybe 12 to 14 hours. Work Saturday and Sundays. I’m actually really never off. And so it is important to understand that no one has given me anything free. The work that I do is earned,” said Norman, who would not commit to forgoing his raise until his officers get raises of their own.
Rank-and-file Milwaukee police officers have not received pay raises for 2.5 years despite a recruiting and retention crisis, and even though they already earn less than some suburban departments. Norman’s pay is set to increase from $183,000 to $243,000. He made $177,112 a year ago. The latter is more than a $65,000 raise from what Norman earned just a year ago…