UWM Searches For New Police Chief as LeMire Leaves

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Police Chief Joe LeMire has just ended his career at UWM. 

It was revealed in a press release that LeMire has officially accepted a job as chief of Campus Safety and Police at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina. His last day at UWM was March 12, 2021. 

While UWM focuses on finding a replacement by LeMire, his second-in-command Lt. Brian Switala will be serving as UWM’s interim chief. Switala has been with the UWM Police Department since 2000 and led their officer training program. Recently, he has been overseeing UWM’s community testing clinics. However, Switala was recently under scrutiny regarding harassment allegations in 2018 and the shooting Switala was connected to in 2019. More information regarding these instances can be found below.

UWM Police Sexual Harassment Claims Spark Dueling Decisions

UWMPD Officers Named in the On-Campus Police Shooting

The national search for a new chief is being undertaken by UWM’s Police Community and Advisory Committee as well as a private search firm with experience in university police chief recruiting, according to the press release. 

LeMire has been Chief at UWM since 2015, and during his time he has helped the UWM Police Department achieve several changes. Several accomplishments of LeMire’s were listed in the press release. Among these are a collaboration with the Dean of Students Office to instruct faculty and instructional staff on safety training. There are also the officer-worn body cameras that were implemented in 2017. 

“We are very appreciative of Chief LeMire’s dedicated service and valuable contributions to UWM and wish him much success in his next position,” said UWM Vice Chancellor for Finance & Administrative Affairs Robin Van Harpen.