After serving for nearly two and a half decades with Baltimore Police, Richard Worley, of Pigtown, has been tapped to run the department.
Following Commissioner Michael Harrison's announcement that he'd be stepping down on Thursday, June 8th, Worley was announced as acting commissioner.
Later that afternoon, Mayor Brandon Scott said he'd be nominating Worley for the permanent position.
“Deputy Commissioner Worley has proven his commitment to our city time and time again. As a fellow son of Baltimore and an experienced public servant, it is clear that he is the right person to lead this department into the future,” said Mayor Brandon M. Scott in a statement.
Worley first joined the department in August of 1998, as a police officer trainee, more than a decade after earning is bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from Oklahoma City University, where he also played college baseball.
He actually played on the NAIA All-America first team in 1987 as a catcher.
And he hasn't abandoned that passion for baseball. According to Major League Baseball, he has been working as an authenticator for MLB merchandise, in addition to serving in various roles within the police department.
Following his training as a police officer, he became a patrol officer in the Western police district, where he spent four years.
He was promoted to Sergeant in 2003, and Lieutenant in 2008, accomplishing the goal he said he had set out for himself when he first started the job.
"And then I became a captain and all of a sudden I wanted to move up," Worley said during Thursday's press conference.
He became a captain a little more than a year after his promotion to lieutenant.
And three years after that, he was promoted to Major, in the Northeast District. He spent four years in that role before his next promotion to lieutenant colonel.
He spent a little over two years at that rank, in a few different departments. He started as assistant chief of patrol, then moved to internal affairs for a few months and then the homeland security division.
In November of 2018, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel and Chief of Patrol, just after his 20-year anniversary with the department. In 2021 he became the Chief of Detectives, and then in September of 2022 became the Deputy Commissioner of Operations.
Senate President Bill Ferguson, who represents a district in Baltimore City, released a statement on the announcement.
"Moving forward, Baltimoreans deserve stability, collaboration, and strong leadership in their BPD Commissioner. In many years of working with Interim Commissioner Worley, I am confident that he will continue those tenets in leading Baltimore City’s Police Department. There is still critical and urgent work to be done as we build a better, safer Baltimore."
