Criminal justice reform activist moves closer to seat on Milwaukee's Fire and Police Commission

Krissie Fung, nominated for a seat on the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission, speaking at a town hall meeting at Mitchell Library on Jan. 28, 2025. Photograph by Emilio De Torre.

By Alexandria Staubach
 
The Milwaukee Common Council’s Public Health and Safety Committee last week unanimously recommended Krissie Fung for a seat on Milwaukee's Fire and Police Commission.
 
Krissie Fung was nominated by Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson to fill an FPC vacancy. Her nomination now proceeds to the Common Council for confirmation.
 
Fung is associate director of the Milwaukee Turners, the city’s oldest civic group. She works on projects like Zero Youth Corrections, which supports work on system change to prevent youth from entering the criminal legal system. She recently spearheaded an FPC monitoring program that ran from June to December 2024.
 
Fung made the rounds last week, participating in a town hall event at Mitchell Library on Tuesday and then testifying in front of the Public Safety and Health Committee at its Thursday meeting.
 
FPC Executive Director Leon Todd introduced Fung at the town hall meeting. “I believe that Ms. Fung is extremely well qualified to represent the public in this role,” he said.
 
Fung told town hall attendees that she was inspired to seek the seat in part by her work monitoring the FPC. She expressed concern over a lack of civic engagement with the FPC after state legislation took away its rule-making authority. She said she wants to increase the commission’s transparency and increase the public’s trust of and access to the commission.
 
At the committee meeting, Alderwoman Sharlen Moore championed Fung as a unique pick, saying it was “so important that our commissions and our boards are diverse and represent an array of experiences.”
 
Alderwoman Laressa Taylor asked Fung what unique contributions she would make on the FPC. Fung highlighted her work with many who are system impacted or formerly incarcerated and her own experiences with the justice system. She said she would give voice to those perspectives in civilian oversight.
 
Alderman Scott Spiker asked Fung whether she would be able to demonstrate fairness in officer disciplinary hearings given the Turners’ history of advocacy regarding criminal justice reform and police. Fung said she desired to seek reform and that her ultimate goal of zero youth incarceration in Milwaukee will remain, but that she was committed “to work with the systems we have.”
 
Alderperson Jose Perez asked Fung at the town hall meeting what she hoped people would say about her at the end of her term if confirmed.
 
“I hope that folks would say I was fair in my careful consideration of everything that came before me,” Fung responded.