Baltimore City leaders react to Police Commissioner Michael Harrison's resignation
BALTIMORE - Baltimore leaders are reacting to the news that the police department will soon have a new leader.
Commissioner Michael Harrison announced Thursday that he is resigning from his position.
Deputy Commissioner Richard Worley will be the acting commissioner until City Council approves a permanent commissioner.
"I am sorry that Commissioner Harrison will be leaving the Baltimore City Police Department," Councilmember Odette Ramos said. "He began the transformation of the department into an entity that operates with the understanding that public safety has to be done with integrity and constitutional focus. The transformation with the consent decree is not a small task. He has inspired leaders and the officers on the ground. He has elevated more women into leadership roles than any other police commissioner and made sure the officers have the resources they need."
Councilmember Eric Costello said there was concern about the leadership change during the budget hearings this week.
He asked multiple times whether the commissioner plans on staying through the duration of his contract which runs to early next year.
"I have said no to many opportunities that have come," Harrison said. "If and when it comes, I may have to make that consideration."
"In short, thank you to Michael Harrison for his service to the City of Baltimore," Costello said.
Mayor Brandon Scott nominated Worley to be the police department's next commissioner, which must get approval from Baltimore City Council.
"I have had a great working relationship with Interim Commissioner Worley during my nearly nine years on the City Council," Costello said. "I am confident this will continue and that he will make the meaningful changes necessary to ensure all our communities across Baltimore City are safe."
According to the Mayor's Office, during Commissioner Harrison's tenure with BPD, the department has made significant progress implementing recommendations from the Federal Consent Decree, taken record numbers of illegal firearms off of Baltimore's streets, and implemented a number of reforms that have improved Baltimore's application of law enforcement resources.
"I want to extend thanks to Baltimore Police Commissioner Harrison for his leadership over the past four-and-a-half years," Mayor Scott said. "In that time, we've taken meaningful strides to tackle many of our public safety goals and lay out a vision for the future of our great city."
Councilmembers Isaac Yitzy Schleifer and Mark Conway expressed gratitude to Harrison, who has served as Baltimore Police Commissioner for the past four years.
"Thank you to Baltimore Police Department commissioner Michael Harrison for your service to Baltimore City," Schleifer said. "You have been a real mensch and we can't thank you enough for the transformative change you have made."
"I'd like to thank Commissioner Harrison for his service to Baltimore and wish him well in his future endeavors," Conway added. "The reforms this department has made over the past several years must continue, and I look forward to working with his successor."
