BALTIMORE — Baltimore Deputy Police Commissioner Michael Sullivan will be moving out West to take over a police department.
Sullivan was named interim Police Chief of the Phoenix Police Department in Arizona.
As interim Police Chief, Sullivan will lead the Phoenix Police through the currently open Department of Justice (DOJ) civil pattern or practice investigation. The assignment is expected to be for 12 to 24 months, during which the City of Phoenix will conduct a robust nationwide search for a permanent Police Chief.
Sullivan assumes the role on Sept. 12.
“I want to thank Mayor Brandon Scott and Commissioner Michael Harrison for their continuous support and the opportunity to serve the citizens of Baltimore. The occasion to work alongside the most devoted men and women in law enforcement in partnership with the community has been an experience I will always relish,” said Sullivan. “I am proud of how we have been able to advance police reform, and transform the management and accountability systems of the BPD into the 21st century. I look forward to taking the valuable insights Baltimore has taught me to advance this noble profession.”
Sullivan is a veteran law enforcement executive with 27 years of operational, administrative and command experience.
Sullivan began his career at the Louisville Metro Police Department in Louisville, Ky., and rose through the ranks to become Deputy Chief/Chief of Staff there in 2015.
In 2019, the Baltimore Police Department recruited Sullivan to serve as Deputy Commissioner of the Operations Bureau, commanding the Patrol Operations Division, Criminal Investigation Division and the Data Driven Strategies Division, encompassing more than 2,500 sworn and civilian members.
In June 2021, Sullivan took command of BPD’s Compliance Bureau as the principal executive charged with leading reform efforts and bringing the agency into substantial compliance with the mandates of its Federal Consent Decree, which was entered in 2017.
In 2018, Sullivan was awarded the Police Executive Research Forum’s Gary P. Hayes Award, which recognizes national leaders in the policing profession.
