Detroit Police Chief Announces Retirement, Hasn’t Made Decision on Gubernatorial Run

Detroit Police Chief James Craig, left, speaks to the media at Detroit Public Safety Headquarters in Detroit, Mich., on Nov. 21, 2019. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP)

Detroit’s police chief on May 10 said he will retire and consider challenging Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2022.

Police Chief James Craig, a Republican, said he will voluntarily step down on June 1.

“We saw what happened to many chiefs across this country. Some were forced out. Some retired because they didn’t feel supported. And some were fired. So I’m leaving in a good place. I love this city. And I love this state,” he told a press conference, thanking Mayor Mike Duggan, a Democrat, and other officials for supporting him.

Duggan praised Craig, who he said “brought professionalism to the department.”

Duggan is hiring a firm to conduct a search and provide him with a list of candidates to become the next chief.

Craig became police chief in Detroit in 2013. He has headed departments in Portland, Maine; and Cincinnati, and worked for the Los Angeles Police Department.

Craig said Detroit showed how to react correctly to riots and protests that erupted in the wake of George Floyd’s May 2020 death.

“We didn’t retreat. The city did not burn. And we’re a model for the country,” he said, crediting law enforcement and community members.

Craig said he’s been receiving questions about a possible gubernatorial run.

“I have gotten countless calls, text messages, Facebook shots, emails from people across this great state, Democrats and Republicans, who say they want me to seek office,” Craig said.

“I have not made that decision. I’m not ruling it out. There’s an appropriate time. I will get past this and then I will come out with a decision. So I am not ruling it out. I am deeply passionate for public service but not just public service, but in a leadership role, deeply passionate about it.”

Whitmer, a Democrat, entered office in January 2019. She’s in her first term. She beat Bill Schuette, a Republican who was the state’s attorney general while running.

Republican Rick Snyder was governor of Michigan from 2011 to 2019.

The list of governors of the state going back decades includes both Democrats and Republicans.

Whitmer has received pushback from the GOP for the harsh measures she imposed to try to curb the spread of the CCP virus during the COVID-19 pandemic. More than a dozen recall efforts have been launched against Whitmer, but none so far have garnered enough signatures.

Whitmer hasn’t yet announced she will run again.

A handful of candidates have been declared for the 2022 race, including businessman Garret Soldano and pastor Ralph Rebandt.