Baltimore mayor officially nominates Richard Worley to become new police commissioner
BALTIMORE - Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has officially nominated Richard Worley to become the city's next full-time police commissioner.
Worley, a Baltimore native, has been serving as interim commissioner since Michael Harrison resigned from the department.
Mayor Scott announced the nomination at Monday's Baltimore City Council meeting. The mayor said on June 8, the day Harrison stepped down, that he was planning to nominate Worley.
Worley has to go through the confirmation process before it is official.
According to the Mayor's Office, Worley will conduct a city-wide community engagement process to hear from Baltimore residents and will discuss his vision for the future of the Baltimore Police Department.
A formal confirmation hearing will be on August 15 in which both the committee and full council will vote.
"Today, I am incredibly proud to be officially submitting Acting Commissioner Worley's nomination to the City Council," Mayor Scott said. "The Acting Commissioner is without a doubt the right person to lead the Baltimore Police Department into the future, and build on the successful reforms we've made over the past few years. With his leadership and vision, we will continue to confront Baltimore's public safety challenges, continue increasing trust in the department, and continue making our communities safer."
Worley, a Pigtown native, joined the Baltimore Police Department in 1998.
He spent his first four years with the department on patrol in the Western District before he was promoted to Lieutenant in the Western District in 2008 and was promoted to Major a year later.
In 2018, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel as Chief of Patrol. In 2021, Worley was assigned to a post as Chief of Detectives before being named in September 2022 to be Deputy Commissioner of the Operations Bureau where he oversaw Patrol, Criminal Investigation and several other units.
"I am deeply honored to be moving into this next phase of the process and am humbled by the trust that Mayor Scott has bestowed on me," said Acting Commissioner Worley. "This opportunity to continue the progress we've made in reducing violent crime, building public trust in our agency and to keep working alongside the brave men and women of BPD is an opportunity unlike any other. As I meet with Baltimoreans around the city over the next few weeks, I am eager to learn and hear from them, and to discuss how we can build a safer Baltimore for all."
Harrison announced his resignation in June after he said he made the mayor aware of his decision.
In an exclusive interview with WJZ, Harrison said he wasn't forced out and the timing was right to "pass the torch" to Worley.
"I was convinced the time was now because, with this, you can only pass the torch when you are not in crisis," Harrison said. "This was the most opportune time to pass the torch."
The Baltimore NAACP held a press conference to urge Mayor Scott to withdraw the nomination of Worley and hold a national search.
"It is critical that our next commissioner is appointed through a transparent process that includes community engagement and real participation," NAACP President Kobi Little said. "it is truly concerning that the general public, nor local community-led groups have been fully made aware of the process or how to be engaged. This process needs to be transparent, and inclusive of community voices to attempt to repair the damages that have been done. We cannot move forward without it."
