There was a moment early in Madison Police Chief Noble Wray’s tenure when he was sure his short-lived career had come to a screeching halt.
He had thrown his body in front of the rolling unmanned squad car he had forgotten to put in park to stop it from hitting a “souped-up hot-rod” parked on East Washington Street.
“I was literally in front of the squad, trying to push it back, but it kept pushing me into the other vehicle until I moved out of the way,” Wray said. “At that time, you were told in the academy ‘you have an accident while you’re on probation, you’re fired.’ An officer’s probationary period consists of his or her first 18 months on the force. “I just knew I was fired,” Wray said.
Instead, 28 years later, Noble Wray bids the city where he dedicated his professional life, including nine as the leader of the Madison Police Department, a reminiscent farewell.
Wray said his upbringing prevented him from ever imagining a life in law enforcement, but when he wound up on the MPD roster by a series of surreptitious events, he realized his potential.
“There were people in my life that influenced me and said, you know, ‘If you don’t like something, don’t run away from it ... protest it, get involved. You can reform and change things from within,’ Wray said. “And that has always stuck with me.”
Born in the turbulent 1960’s in Milwaukee to parents heavily involved in the civil rights movement, the values of freedom and participatory government imprinted themselves on Wray at an early age and were not lost to him as he confronted daily challenges in his post. However, public safety remained a priority concern throughout his career, especially during the 2011 protests, when “hundreds of thousands of people [descended] on the Capitol,” according to Wray.
Wray said witnessing “government by the people” and watching parents educate their children about the necessity of democracy was an “unbelievable experience,” but it was only one of many moments that shine in his recollections of his time as a patrol officer and the department head.
Looking forward, one of the big issues Wray foresees in the city’s future is making the Isthmus and downtown accessible to all, equally. Currently, Wray said multiple groups, including the homeless, University of Wisconsin-Madison students, working professionals and locals, are “competing for the same turf.” He said students will play a pivotal role in developing a shared, interactive space.
“The student involvement is just critical,” Wray said. “During my career, whenever we have had an initiative that involved the Isthmus or the downtown where we have had student involvement, [the outcome] has always ended up being dramatically better.”
The three widely publicized and highly contentious civilian deaths involving Wisconsin police officers that occurred during Wray’s final year as police chief will also shape the future of the city, the state and the nation in coming years, according to Wray.
He said city officials are in the process of adjusting the policies under which the department investigates officer-involved deaths to make inquiries more transparent and impartial. The internal policy overhaul is meant to complement the efforts of state legislators, not compete with them, Wray said.
“Some people may assume that police don’t want people looking at this, but they do,” Wray said. “What police want is to make sure that their voice is being heard. What police want is to make sure that whatever comes out of the legislation, that [officers] are involved.”
Despite the public skepticism surrounding this issue, Wray said he is confident the department will continue to live up to its core values of trust, both internal and external, and a commitment to excellence.
“If you are not about constant improvement, you shouldn’t be in this business,” Wray said. “If you are so heavily invested in your ego you really shouldn’t be in policing.”
Wray views his retirement as a stepping stone to his future at the firm Blue Courage, where he will consult with police departments across the country about problem solving and community policing.
Although he will no longer be serving the Madison community in the same capacity, Wray said he will take with him the most important lesson he learned while committed to the “unconditional pledge” of guarding public safety: “take a moment to recommit.”
“It’s unconditional because you know that at some point in time you may be put in a situation life or death and you can’t run away from it, you’ve got to run to it,” Wray said. “And we tend to lose that along the way.”
Upon his departure, Wray said he would like to thank UW-Madison students for being a “partner” of the force throughout his time at the MPD on everything from the Mifflin Street block party to off-campus residential safety.
