Tacoma Gets Milwaukee Police Chief

TACOMA - The new police chief for Washington's third-largest city will be Philip Arreola, currently the police chief in Milwaukee, a Tacoma city spokesman said early today.

City Manager Ray Corpuz scheduled a news conference this morning to make the announcement. City spokesman Dan Voelpel said Arreola would participate by telephone.

Additional details weren't immediately available.

Corpuz offered the job Tuesday to T. Neil Moore Jr., police chief of Fort Wayne, Ind. But Moore withdrew his name from consideration Wednesday for personal reasons.

Arreola has spent the past seven years as head of Milwaukee's 2,200-officer police force. He will finish his seven-year term there in November.

During his tenure he fought with the mayor and alienated Milwaukee's police union. Union officials said Arreola was wrong to fire two officers who returned a boy to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in 1991. A judge later reinstated the two officers.

David Brame, Tacoma police union's vice president, said the union wasn't too thrilled with Arreola.