Sittin’ In a Tree

Geez.

When journalist Jessica McBride penned a glowing, 5,400-word profile of Police Chief Edward A. Flynn for Milwaukee Magazine earlier this year, many in the Milwaukee Police Department jokingly dismissed it as a love letter to the chief.

Little did they know.

Sometime earlier this year, Flynn and McBride struck up a romantic relationship.

Asked about the affair, the 61-year-old chief issued a statement Thursday acknowledging his indiscretion - without mentioning McBride, 39, by name.

“I have done my wife and family a great wrong, and I profoundly regret the hurt I have inflicted on them and others affected by my conduct,” Flynn wrote. “I accept the personal and public consequences of my private behavior. I have damaged my public reputation and violated the trust and love of my family.”

McBride - a journalism lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a former Journal Sentinel reporter - has refused to respond to numerous messages about the liaison. McBride has been a prominent figure in the community, serving as a talk-show host and political blogger.