Cleveland Public Safety Director Karrie Howard resigned Friday, according to a statement from Mayor Justin Bibb.
Howard was first appointed by Mayor Frank Jackson in 2020, after serving as Assistant Public Safety Director and a criminal prosecutor in the city prosecutor’s office.
“Karrie Howard resigned today from his position as Chief Director of Public Safety effective immediately,” Bibb’s communications director, Sarah Johnson, said in a statement. “We thank Chief Howard for his service and dedication to the City of Cleveland over the past four years.”
Bibb named Chief of Police Wayne Drummond as interim public safety director and Drummond’s chief of staff, Deputy Chief Dorothy Todd, as the new chief of police.
“Chief Todd and I have worked collaboratively over the years on many pressing and sensitive safety issues in Cleveland,” said Blaine Griffin, president of Cleveland City Council, in a statement. “I look forward to building upon the relationship.”
The city provided few details about the reason for Howard’s departure, saying only it was effective immediately.
In Friday's letter of resignation, Howard wrote he made the decision after “much contemplation and deliberation” but did not elaborate.
Former Mayor Jackson appointed Howard to replace Michael McGrath in 2020 after criticism of McGrath’s record on disciplining police officers from the federal monitor overseeing the Cleveland Division of Police consent decree.
The following year, the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association called for Howard’s firing, citing “direct pressure from the monitors” on Howard to increase discipline on officers.
Howard survived those attempts to have him removed and Bibb reappointed him to the role in 2022. He later came under fire from the union for comments encouraging Black people to pursue law enforcement careers to eventually change the nature of the department.
“Racism is in the DNA of America. So, there is a certain type of person who has historically applied to be police officers and we’re not part of that certain type of person,” Howard said at a 2023 appearance at a church on Cleveland’s East Side.
Howard most recently ended up the subject of news coverage after an assistant public safety director crashed a city vehicle with her children in the car.
