Milwaukee violence prevention, Karin Tyler appointment approved

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Common Council on Tuesday voted to approve the appointment of Karin Tyler as the city's Department of Community Wellness and Safety commissioner.

Karin Tyler

The backstory:

Tyler has been serving as its interim leader since February. The Common Council was supposed to vote on her appointment in March, but it was sent back to committee after members said they had concerns about a funding snag.

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Tyler has been with the city for a decade, including eight years with the wellness and safety department and its previous iterations. She was a finalist for the job last summer that ultimately went to Adam Procell.

What's next:

The department leads the city's violence prevention efforts. Prior to her confirmation, Tyler said she wants to invest in more data and research, expand youth outreach, and provide stability for the department.

Adam Procell

Big picture view:

Procell held the leadership role for only five months, and legal questions about his homicide conviction as a teen led to his resignation. 

The issue that led to Procell's resignation, and consequently Tyler's appointment, stems from a structural change approved in the Common Council’s 2026 budget, which moved the Office of Community Wellness and Safety into a standalone department. City officials said the change made Procell ineligible to serve as department head under the Wisconsin Constitution.

Article 13 of the Wisconsin Constitution states: "No person convicted of a felony...shall be eligible to any office of trust, profit or honor in this state unless pardoned of the conviction."