The top Wisconsin cop, Aaron Miller, said Sunday that he would not resign, but said that he wanted to make clear that he had not resigned because he was under investigation by the Milwaukee Police Department.
“I’ve been the Milwaukee police chief for 11 years, and I’m here to stay.
I have no plans to resign,” Miller said on Fox 2 Milwaukee.
Miller was named Milwaukee Police Chief in July, after a four-year period as the city’s top police officer.
Miller’s tenure began under Mayor Tom Barrett and lasted until he was fired last month.
The Milwaukee Police Board voted to remove Miller from his job on Thursday, and the police union sued Miller in a federal court on Monday.
Miller’s resignation comes as a federal judge is hearing the suit against the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.
In the lawsuit, the union claims that Miller’s termination was a result of his “failure to follow proper procedure in handling criminal charges related to the arrest and subsequent investigation of a former deputy district attorney.”
Miller was appointed by Barrett to the position of police chief in July after former Milwaukee Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy resigned in February.
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin is handling the investigation into Miller’s actions.
“He has been on the job for 11 months.
He is a very good police chief, a very decent police officer, and he has handled this investigation in a manner that has been honorable and respectful to his colleagues,” Miller told Fox 2.
The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday it has received a request for a criminal investigation into the events leading up to Miller’s dismissal.
The sheriff’s office did not comment on the matter.
