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, joining NOPD in 1991 and ascended through the ranks. He was appointed to Superintendent in 2014 and led the Department for over four years.
Commissioner Harrison was appointed to the Police Executive Research Forum Board of Directors in 2019, where he now serves as President. He is a member of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, 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, Northwestern University's School of Police Staff and Command and the F.B.I’s National Executive Institute.
He has considerable experience in navigating a policing agency operating under a federal consent decree, having led two large police departments under such oversight.
He honorably served with the Louisiana Air National Guard.
Commissioner Harrison has been married to his high school sweetheart since 1992, and they are the loving parents of two adult children.
