Detroit police chief plans retirement, might focus on future – KIRO 7 Information Seattle

DETROIT – (AP) – Police Chief James Craig plans on Monday to announce his resignation as head of the city’s police force and possibly discuss his future plans, which could include running for political office.

Craig, due to speak at a press conference, had the longest tenure of any youngest police chief in Detroit. The Detroit native was hired by an emergency manager in 2013 after the state took control of the financially troubled city.

Craig, who is black, immediately set out to restore residents’ trust in the department, where officials had in the past committed civil rights against the city’s predominantly black population.

Detroit has had a dozen or so police chiefs since the early 1990s and five in the five years before Craig was hired. Several were evicted on charges of misconduct.

Prior to starting the job in Detroit, Craig served as Cincinnati’s boss from 2011 after being hired as police chief in Portland, Maine, in 2009. Craig served in Los Angeles for 28 years after starting his police career as a Detroit police officer in 1977.

64-year-old Craig has spoken out against the number of illegal weapons on the streets of Detroit and is a strong supporter of the second amendment. After a series of legitimate or self-defense shootings, Craig declared in 2014 that Detroit residents had the right to arm themselves as protection.

“Detroiters are fed up with it,” he said at the time. “You are tired of the violence. I am not encouraging violence and, in fact, my aim is to identify the violent perpetrators who are carrying illegal weapons. “

He has also resisted rhetoric about cities having to devalue police departments following the death of George Floyd last May in Minneapolis. Detroit was an exception to the violent protests in the US a year ago after Floyd’s death, but the city was sued by activists who said officials used excessive force to keep protesters at bay.

Craig’s retirement is “good for the people, good for the city,” said Kenneth Reed, spokesman for the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, which has often been critical of the department and how officials have treated city residents.

“He came in early and encouraged people to arm themselves,” Reed said. “He had no crime-fighting plan and never had one.”

Detroit had 261 murders in 2018 – the fewest in decades. That year there were more than 750 non-fatal shootings in the city, with a population of more than 672,000. But last year the city topped 300 murders. There were also non-fatal shootings.

Republicans are hoping that Craig will decide to challenge Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2022.

“Chief Craig would bring a whole new level of leadership that is exciting,” said Meshawn Maddock, co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party.

To date, five Republicans have formed committees for gubernatorial campaigns. All of them are lesser-known candidates with little government or political experience.

Others contemplating running include businessman and Iraq War veteran John James, the GOP nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2020 and 2018, and businesswoman Lena Epstein, who ran for a suburban congressional seat in 2018.

Whitmer, who is expected to seek re-election, had $ 3.5 million in her campaign account as of Dec. 31.

___

Associate press writer David Eggert in Lansing contributed to this report.