Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison steps down
'This was the most opportune time to pass the torch'
'This was the most opportune time to pass the torch'
'This was the most opportune time to pass the torch'
Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison is stepping down, Mayor Brandon Scott announced in a news conference Thursday morning.
"I have been truly blessed to serve this city of Baltimore," Harrison said. "The opportunity to serve as your police commissioner is one that I will always cherish."
The mayor and Harrison said they've been in discussions for several weeks about the commissioner's future and the future of the department.
"To say we've come a long way would be an understatement," Harrison said. "I am extremely proud of all of the members of the department who have worked extremely tirelessly to get us where we are today."
Harrison's departure marks the 11th change in leadership of the Baltimore Police Department since 2000. Harrison is one of the longest-serving Baltimore City police commissioners in more than 20 years. He has been in the position since March 2019, and his contract was set to expire in March 2024. He earned $287,540.
"I think that we know that we are here today and have a much stronger BPD," Scott said. "In just a few years, (the police department) went from an example of everything that was wrong with policing, to the example of how you can start and repair, build those relationships, go through policing reform, doing that work over the past four and a half years to have us now being the leader."
Harrison did not specify what's next.
"It became convincing to me that this was the most opportune time to pass the torch," Harrison said. "We truly have become the greatest comeback story in America."
Two days prior, Councilman Eric Costello, D-District 11, questioned Harrison several times during public safety budget hearings about continuing on as commissioner.
"I have said no to many opportunities that have come up, but there may be a consideration that I may have to consider. If it comes, when it comes, I may have to make that consideration," Harrison said at Tuesday's budget hearing.
| VIDEO BELOW: Harrison's future was in question after budget hearing (Wednesday)
The 11 News I-Team has learned that City Council members were told of Harrison's decision just before the public announcement.
"(It was) disappointing, the way this was rolled out. The administration was not forthcoming with the council about what his plans were," Costello told 11 News on Thursday.
Harrison served 28 years in the New Orleans Police Department, rising to superintendent before retiring and taking the job in Baltimore.
The U.S. Department of Justice put the BPD under a federal consent decree in 2017 after investigators found a pattern of unconstitutional policing. Harrison led similar reform efforts during his tenure as superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department.
Harrison touted progress in making reforms and rebuilding community trust, as well as developing leaders within the police department.
"We're totally different than we were four years ago, but we've made all these improvements. Let me be the first to say we have a long way to go," Harrison told 11 News in an exclusive interview in April.
Video below: Thursday's news conference in its entirety (Thursday)
The mayor said the change in leadership will have little impact on the consent decree implementation.
"We won't miss a beat there. The acting commissioner has been involved with that. We talked to the (consent decree) monitor and the judge, and we will continue the great work we've been doing, and hopefully, get the consent decree to end as quickly as possible," Scott said.
"For too long, we've been using the consent decree as an excuse to not effectively police. We can effectively police with the consent decree in place," Costello said.
Observers said Harrison made progress when it came to reform.
"I think Commissioner Harrison has made great changes, he's really tried to institute changes (under) the consent decree," Former Mayor Sheila Dixon told WBAL NewsRadio 1090 AM and 101.5 FM. "We've gone through quite a few police commissioners, and you need some consistency in this process. That's the only way we're going to see the kind of results."
"I'd say he deserves a lot of credit for engaging the consent decree and really leaning into that. I think he brought some best practices that helped move the needle forward for the BPD and he deserves a lot of credit for that," former Baltimore Police Commissioner Fred Bealefeld told WBAL NewsRadio 1090 AM and 101.5 FM.
Harrison and Scott created a short and long-term crime-fighting plan. Harrison said hopes the police department will continue working on the Group Violence Reduction Strategy and other holistic initiatives that he believes will help reduce violent crime.
| VIDEO BELOW: Harrison weighs in on 4-year crime report (April 2023)
The governor said the state will continue to partner with the city on public safety.
"He is a true man of honor and integrity," Gov. Wes Moore told 11 News. "We're here to continue the partnership that we're going to have with the city. Look, what's happened with the state, we've shown that public safety is the No. 1 priority of any executive, and it is mine."
Mayor turns to Pigtown native to succeed Harrison
The mayor announced he is turning to Deputy Commissioner Richard Worley, a BPD veteran of more than 24 years, as Harrison's replacement. After Harrison voiced his full support for his replacement at Thursday morning's news conference, the mayor turned the page.
"I'd like to now turn toward the future leadership at the BPD," Scott said. "I am really excited to continue the partnership we've built so far as a part of our shared commitment to building a better, safer Baltimore."
Video below: Mayor's choice to succeed Harrison (Thursday)
Worley is stepping into his sixth promotion in as many years as the acting commissioner until he goes through the confirmation process within the Baltimore City Council. He has had a meteoric rise in the BPD; his LinkedIn page lists six job promotions since 2018.
And if Thursday's news conference was any indication, Worley has Harrison's blessing for his biggest promotion yet. Harrison said he has full confidence in Worley.
"I now say thank you to the commissioner for stepping up to take not only this challenge, but this opportunity," Harrison said.
A Pigtown native, Worley joined the BPD in 1998, starting his first four years on patrol in the Western District. The police department said Worley was promoted to lieutenant in 2008 and to major a year later. In 2018, he was promoted to colonel as chief of patrol.
In 2021, Worley was assigned to a post as chief of detectives before being named to his current post in September 2022 as deputy commissioner of the operations bureau, where he oversees patrol, criminal investigation and several other units.
A BPD organizational chart from March shows Worley was selected for the top position ahead of three other deputy commissioners in the department.
Video below: Worley's meteoric rise to the top (Thursday)
The I-Team has learned that Worley started taking part in the Major Cities Chiefs Association Police Executive Leadership Institute (PELI) in September 2022. Worley spent four days in San Diego in early March with the police chief there as part of the institute's mentorship program.
The PELI website says the program is "aimed at high-level police executives who have a strong desire to become a police chief or sheriff." It offers a curriculum and features a mentor experience, and the website said "nearly one-third of participants have become police chiefs."
The mayor explained why Worley is the right choice to replace Harrison.
"I am incredibly proud to stand here with Deputy Commissioner Worley, who I know will be a fantastic police commissioner, and will, today, assume the role of acting commissioner," Scott said. "As a fellow son of Baltimore, and an experienced public servant, it is clear that he is the right person to lead our department into the future."
"It's an honor to be standing here. I've dedicated my life to serving the city of Baltimore. Like the mayor said, I was born and raised in Baltimore, and I look forward to continuing that service," Worley said.
Worley said that since Harrison arrived in Baltimore, he has been grooming Worley and others on the command staff to succeed him.
"He's done that from the day he got here until today, and I will continue to call him and ask him for advice as we move forward," Worley said.
Worley has only been deputy commissioner for 10 months. If the City Council approves him for the job permanently, Worley will take over a department that has seen a recent decline in shootings and homicides.
"I'll have significantly more to say to the citizens and elected officials and everyone else in the city as we move further into the confirmation process," Worley said.
Worley currently earns $207,949.
Harrison said his affection for Baltimore remains, and he will stay around to help with the transition.
"My wife and I have grown to love this city, and we have become immersed in the Baltimore culture, and I just want to tell you, not only thank you, but I love you," Harrison said.
The Baltimore City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3, which long been at odds with Harrison, said it's eager to continue working with Worley, saying in a tweet: "Today, FOP3 learned that PC Harrison will be leaving @BaltimorePolice after 4 long years. The #1 responsibility of a PC is to protect its citizens from violent criminals today, tomorrow, and next week, rather than to holistically plan for decades of social work. That is for others. How many have lost their lives from this failed approach? We know Acting PC Worley and we communicate well with him. It is our desire to continue to do so and we hope that he focuses on retention and recruitment because without those numbers increasing we cannot fulfill our first priority to protect our citizens."
City leaders react to commissioner's departure
Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan Bates released a statement, saying: "Working with Commissioner Harrison over the past several months was my pleasure, and I wish him well in his future endeavors. I have deeply appreciated his partnership as we worked together to launch the citation docket program and restore accountability to the city we love.
"Commissioner Harrison's work to reform the Baltimore Police Department is one of the most impressive displays of leadership our city has seen in its troubled history of mass incarceration and abuses of power. His leadership guided the collaborative partnership that we have established with the Baltimore Police Department.
"I have witnessed firsthand the dedication and commitment the women and men of BPD have to this city and its residents. Congratulations to Acting Commissioner Worley as he assumes this critical new role. I look forward to continuing to work with the department as we collaboratively address public safety in the city of Baltimore."
Video below: Reaction swift to Harrison's announcement (Thursday)
Baltimore City Councilman Mark Conway, D-District 4, chairman of the Public Safety and Government Operations Committee, released a statement, saying: "I’d like to thank Commissioner Harrison for his service to Baltimore and wish him well in his future endeavors. The reforms this department has made over the past several years must continue, and I look forward to working with his successor.
"The mayor has nominated a respected member of the department in Deputy Commissioner Worley, and I will be closely examining his nomination and vision for the department alongside my colleagues. With crime and violence declining in some areas but still at unacceptable levels, our city can't afford anything less than a fully focused department."
Comptroller Bill Henry released a statement, saying: "Thanks to Commissioner Harrison's dedication and hard work, we have a substantially better managed police department. As a veteran of federal policing consent decrees, his knowledge and leadership were indispensable in the monumental progress BPD has made towards emerging from our own consent decree. I appreciate his service to the city of Baltimore and I wish him the best in his future endeavors."
| VIDEO BELOW: Baltimore beginning to see results of crime, violence reduction strategies, Harrison says (February 2023)
