The chief of the Milwaukee Police Department is the executive responsible for the Milwaukee Police Department. The position was established in 1855 by mayor James B. Cross to replace the position of city sheriff. He appointed William Beck, a former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, as the first chief, a position he held until his resignation in 1861; he later served two more non-consecutive terms. The mayor directly appointed the position, which caused the position to have a spoils system.^[2][3] The Fire and Police Commission was founded in 1885 with the sole authority to select and remove chiefs, replacing the previous system. In 1888, the commission fired Florian J. Ries, who had been appointed by Mayor Emil Wallber, and selected John T. Janssen, who served as chief until his resignation in 1921.^[4]

The department's first Hispanic chief was Phillip Arreola, who became chief in 1989 – following Arreola, Arthur L. Jones became the first African American chief and Nannette Hegerty became the first female chief in 1996 and 2003, respectively.^[5] The current chief is Jeffrey B. Norman, who entered office in December 2020.^[a][1]