Police Commissioner
Police Commissioner Michael S. Harrison
Michael S. Harrison was sworn in as the Baltimore Police Department’s 41st Commissioner on March 12, 2019. Before coming to Baltimore, Commissioner Harrison served the New Orleans Police Department for nearly three decades. He joined the NOPD in 1991 and ascended steadily through the ranks. He served in supervisory assignments as an Assistant Commander and Commander of a patrol District and the Specialized Investigations Division of the Public Integrity Bureau. He was appointed to Superintendent in 2014 and led the Department for over four years.
Commissioner Harrison has been instrumental in the development, implementation and assessment of community policing programs that have led to demonstrably increased partnership and collaboration. Moreover, he is skilled at moving progressive law enforcement bills forward through legislature and effectuating evidence-based crime fighting strategies, many of which assisted in tangible crime reductions.
Commissioner Harrison was appointed to the Police Executive Research Forum Board of Directors in 2019, where he now serves as the President. He is a member of the Major Cities Chiefs Association and served as both the Central and Eastern Region Representative. Additionally, he is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and the Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force.
He received a Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Phoenix and a Masters of Criminal Justice from Loyola University New Orleans. He is also a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police, as well as Northwestern University's School of Police Staff and Command. He is a graduate of the F.B.I’s National Executive Institute.
He has considerable experience in navigating a policing agency through the rigors of operating under a federal consent decree, having led two large police departments under such oversight.
A firm believer in civic duty, he honorably served eight years with the Louisiana Air National Guard. In 2010, Commissioner Harrison was ordained as a minister at City of Love Church in New Orleans.
Commissioner Harrison has been married to his high school sweetheart since 1992, and they are the loving parents of two adult children. Commissioner Harrison and his wife have made Baltimore home and have become proud residents.
You can view the latest BPD Organization Chart on our About The Department.