Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison is stepping down, according to three sources with knowledge of the announcement.

Mayor Brandon Scott has set a 9 a.m. announcement at City Hall. He will nominate Rich Worley, currently the deputy commissioner for operations, as interim BPD Commissioner and intends to nominate him to the position permanently, said Councilman Eric Costello.

Harrison, 54, who has held the post since 2019, had faced intensifying rumors and questions that he would depart for another job — which he denied — and refused to commit to staying through his term when pressed during a city council budget hearing earlier this week.

Harrison brought stability to the top position in the Police Department after the city went through four commissioners in less than four years. He previously led the New Orleans Police Department, where he helped shepherd that department through a federal consent decree.

He would repeat the process in Baltimore, earning a national reputation as a police leader who leaned into reforms and emphasized community policing.

But stubbornly high rates of violent crime often clouded Harrison’s message about the Baltimore Police Department, which he lately has marketed as “the greatest comeback story in America.”

The story continues at the Baltimore Banner: Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison to step down

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