Nicole Waldner Milwaukee Police Department highest-ranking female officer

MILWAUKEE - From Milwaukee's northwest side to becoming the Milwaukee Police Department's assistant police chief, Nicole Waldner is the department's highest-ranking female officer.

She keeps a close eye on rising carjacking and changing shooting data in the city. She also keeps up with the recruits.

"I babysat for these houses. That was fun," said Waldner. "We had friends that lived across the street."

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Assistant Chief Waldner took FOX6 News to her childhood home near 62nd and Congress.

"I had a good childhood. I had good support," Waldner said. "I had wonderful family and friends."

As a child, she says she was called bossy.

"I just took bossy and let it be my own person, and eventually, it just became boss as I got older," said Waldner.

People can see a girl with a subtle smile but big dreams by flipping through pictures of Waldner. For Waldner, being in law enforcement wasn't her dream when she was younger.

"I thought I was going to be a dancer on Broadway," said Waldner. "I went to Roosevelt Middle School of the Arts. I was a dancer and danced in my off time."

It was on that block where the dancing dreams evolved.

"It was this neighborhood started changing, and our house was broken into that I started not feeling safe," said Waldner. "I didn't like that. I never wanted to feel that way again."

She doesn't want any family to feel unsafe in this city. Waldner became a Milwaukee police officer in 1996.

In 2021, she was promoted to assistant chief of the Administration Bureau.

"Training, all of it, from recruits to in-service, HR, who we hire," said Waldner. "I work with the FPC closely with recruiting and what that looks like."

Right now, she is the highest-ranking woman in the police department.

"Being a female in a male-dominated profession, it's staying true to who you are and letting me be the person I'm always in competition with," said Waldner.

Milwaukee police crime data show homicides have decreased compared to last year. The number of non-fatal shootings is up.

Waldner approaches crime numbers with a larger view.

"You have to count homicides and non-fatal shootings together, and you have to look over time. Are they going down?" said Waldner. "Are there other societal changes and cultural changes that people are no longer willing to accept?"

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Officers are trying to curb carjackings, too.  

"We have to direct our resources somehow to get juveniles into a different lifestyle," said Waldner.

Waldner said as a community, there are things we can improve.

"We as a community have to start saying, ‘This is unacceptable,’" Waldner said. "This is not what Milwaukee is. This is not what we want to be known as. That's when I think we'll start to see things change."

In June, FOX6 News was there as the assistant chief talked with future officers at the academy, teaching them how to engage better and connect with the community.

"Standing like this with your hands in your vest... it looks... well, to me, it looks lazy," said Waldner.

The mother of three boys is even known to work out the recruits.

"I don't have to work out with the recruits. I don't have to work out at all," Waldner said. "I do it for my well-being, and I want them to see that this should be a lifetime choice."

Assistant Chief Waldner works closely with Police Chief Jeffrey Norman. They used to be partners in the Homicide Unit.

"He knows exactly what to expect if he asks me a question," said Waldner. "If he doesn’t want to hear my opinion, he won’t even ask."

FOX6's Aaron Maybin: "Do you have aspirations to become chief one day?"

"You know, I’m a worker bee," said Waldner. "I really like being behind the scenes, getting everything done."

In Milwaukee, Waldner figured out how to blaze her own trail, and she has been doing it ever since.