Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott announced on Thursday he is turning to Deputy Commissioner Richard Worley, a BPD veteran of more than 24 years, to replace current Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison. 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.”
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.
| MORE: Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison to step down
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.
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.”
I’m reporting live from @BaltCityHall on @wbalradio this morning with @C4WBAL & @jemillerbalt in for @BryanNehman as we’re learning more about Rich Worley, @MayorBMScott’s choice to be #Baltimore’s next Top Cop with word that Commissioner Michael Harrison has decided to step down pic.twitter.com/pAB1eLe71L
— Scott Wykoff (@ScottWykoffWBAL) June 9, 2023
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.”
