Michigan
Detroit police commissioner plans to resign amid criticism
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Newly elected Detroit Police Chief Darious Morris stated on Friday, January 16, that he plans to resign after he was criticized for naming officers within the ninth District on social media for alleged racist conduct and after the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Workplace determined to refile gun costs in opposition to him in 2021.
Morris’ feedback on social media prompted a letter from the police union asking for his dismissal, describing Morris’ posts as “harmful” and “alarmist anti-police rhetoric.”
Morris, 38, was charged in 2021 with being a felon in possession of a firearm, however that case was dismissed after a Detroit police officer failed to seem in courtroom, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy’s Workplace confirmed.
Worthy’s workplace not too long ago requested Detroit police to refile a warrant amid the controversy surrounding Morris’ conduct on Fb. Earlier this month, Morris, who represents District 3, publicly complained a couple of handful of ninth District officers, however he was notably involved a couple of commander who would not let him into the district’s constructing with out taking off his belt and belongings earlier than going by way of a steel detector — which was allegedly racist conduct, in keeping with Morris’ now-deleted Fb posts.
Morris posted his identify and picture of the officer on-line and tried to begin a social media marketing campaign to do away with the officer. Morris instructed the Free Press that police knowledgeable him that the officer had feared for the security of him and his household. So Morris modified his thoughts and ultimately deleted the Fb posts.
Morris instructed the Free Press on Friday, Jan. 16, that he’ll resolve whether or not to resign earlier than the weekend or after the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. vacation on Monday.
“The dismissal is easy,” he stated. “The board… they do not want this type of publicity firstly of their time period. I’ve to take them into consideration too.’
Detroit’s two police unions criticized Morris for the posts; the Nationwide Affiliation of Police Organizations went as far as to ship a letter to the Board of Police Commissioners asking that Morris resign.
William Johnson, the union’s govt director, wrote that Morris engaged in “alarmist anti-police rhetoric” and “inflammatory statements,” which he additionally described as “harmful and sows not solely mistrust within the police division, but additionally officers’ confidence within the work of the Fee,” in keeping with the letter obtained by the Free Press.
“When he was sworn in on December 17, 2025, Commissioner Morris acknowledged his need to enhance the connection between Detroit’s youth and the police. Lower than a month later, he’s turning residents in opposition to law enforcement officials… it’s unimaginable for a police commissioner to dox these officers,” Johnson continued.
“They deserve respect.”
Worthy’s workplace stated the choice to refile costs was not associated to Morris’ conduct on social media.
“When it occurred, WCPO requested that DPD reissue the case. That is what we routinely do when officers fail to seem, nevertheless it didn’t occur when requested. We requested that the case be reissued. After we obtain the warrant from DPD, it is going to be reviewed,” Maria Miller, a spokesperson for Worthy’s workplace, stated in an e-mail.
And when the Free Press requested Morris what he considered Worthy re-issuing the fees, he stated, “I consider Kym Worthy is an trustworthy particular person. She’s going to have a look at the totality of all of the circumstances. And he or she’s going to make the precise determination. I would like Kym Worthy to actually take a look at what’s taking place right here,” Morris stated.
Detroit police declined remark.
Morris, an actual property agent, gained a write-in marketing campaign in District 3 with 72% of the vote through the November 2025 election. He campaigned on being recognizable and recognized to his voters — he grew up within the district, one of many metropolis’s bloodiest, referred to as the “Pink Zone” — and stated he wished to bridge the hole between Detroit’s youth and regulation enforcement.
Morris instructed the Free Press that he was charged with actual property fraud and forgery in 2009 and 2010, in the end touchdown him in jail for 2 years in his early 20s. He stated when he bought out, he wished to do actual property “the precise means” and provides again to his neighborhood. He stated he has additionally taken accountability and apologized to a Warren officer he allegedly threatened to shoot throughout a heated visitors cease in 2023. He pleaded responsible and was positioned on probation on costs of assaulting a police officer.
Morris stated he regarded as much as Darryl Woods Jr., vice chairman of the BOPC, who was granted commutation in 2019 after practically three many years behind bars for first-degree homicide and is now a frontrunner in the neighborhood, he stated.
Morris likes a narrative about redemption, he stated.
“You may make a mistake, you personal the error, you are taking accountability for it, you pay the positive behind it, you pay for it – however you may nonetheless transfer on.”
Andrea Sahouri covers felony justice for the Detroit Free Press. Contact her at asahouri@freepress.com.