DETROIT (WWJ) -- Civil rights leader and former Detroit Police Assistant Chief James White is set to become the interim Detroit Police Chief on June 1 after James Craig retires, Mayor Mike Duggan announced at a press conference Monday at Public Safety Headquarters.
White has been serving as Executive Director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights since last August. Prior to taking that position, White served as assistant chief of the Detroit Police Department for eight years. He had worked for the department since 1996.
White was born and raised in Detroit and graduated from Wayne County Community College.
“Having grown up in the City of Detroit and in the Detroit Police Department, I am deeply honored and humbled to have been appointed as Interim Chief of Police for the great city of Detroit,” White said in a press release. “I am returning to the Detroit Police Department after having spent the last 8 months serving the citizens of this state as Executive Director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, a position that has allowed me to work with the Michigan Civil Rights Commission on initiatives such as Equity in Education and Equity in Minority and Women-owned Businesses.”
The Board of Police Commissioners will conduct a search to identify a list of candidates, from which Duggan will select a permanent replacement, who must also be confirmed by Detroit City Council.
Duggan met with several current and former DPD executives he was considering for the role before selecting White.
“The level of talent within DPD, and that has come through DPD, is extraordinary and each of the individuals I met with are deeply respected and would make outstanding interim chiefs,” Duggan said. However, James White has the depth and breadth of experience that I feel have prepared him to lead this department forward. He has my full support as well as the full support of every member of City Council and Board of Police Comissioners.”
The Board of Police Commissioners will conduct a search to identify a list of candidates, from which Duggan will select a permanent replacement, who must also be confirmed by Detroit City Council.
Craig announced last Monday he will be retiring from the department after eight years as Detroit’s top cop. Craig is rumored to be eyeing a run as the Republican challenger to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in next year’s gubernatorial election, though he has not yet discussed his plans beyond June 1.
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Craig had been appointed as Detroit’s police chief in 2013 under the direction of Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr and was the longest-running police chief for the city since Bill Hart.
The mayor noted he called upon White to step into a leadership role last spring when Craig contracted COVID-19 at a time when the city was battling with the pandemic and civil rights protests and he saw his ability to lead the city's police department.
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