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City to
rename
DPD
major
crimes
and
training
facility
after
Benny
Napoleon
• Former
Chief of
Police
spent
years
leading
Organized
Crime
and Gang
Intelligence
units
and was
committed
to
officer
training
• DPD to
convert
half of
building
into
high-tech
training
center
for
existing
officers
and
academy
recruits
DETROIT
- The
City of
Detroit
will
rename a
Detroit
Police
Department
building
on
Oakman
Boulevard
near
Focus
Hope
after
former
Chief of
Police
and
Wayne
County
Sheriff,
Benny
Napoleon,
who
passed
away
earlier
this
year
after a
battle
with
Covid-19.
Mayor
Mike
Duggan
and
Chief
James
Craig,
along
with
Council
President
Brenda
Jones
and
members
of
Napoleon’s
family,
today
announced
the
plans to
name the
DPD
building
at 1200
Oakman
Boulevard
the
Benny N.
Napoleon
Intelligence
and
Training
Center,
in
recognition
of
Napoleon’s
legendary
work
with
Detroit’s
Gang
Unit and
his
personal
commitment
to
officer
training.
The
building,
which
the City
purchased
last
year
from
Focus
Hope for
$1
million,
currently
houses
DPD’s
Organized
Crime
and Gang
Intelligence
Units. A
second
building
on the
site
will be
renovated
into a
state of
the art
training
facility
for
officers
to
develop
and
sharpen
their
skills.
Another
portion
of the
building
will be
used to
store
records
DPD has
gathered
over the
years.
“Benny
Napleon
made an
impact
on our
city and
in law
enforcement
that few
will
ever
match,”
said
Mayor
Duggan.
“While
his
experience
was
vast, it
was
always
major
crimes –
particularly
gang
related
criminal
activity
– that
he most
sought
to
affect
throughout
his
career
at DPD
and as
Sheriff.
Now,
future
generations
of DPD
officers
will be
reminded
of his
legacy,
his
contributions
to the
community
and his
commitment
to this
work
every
time
they
step
into
this
building.”
Napoleon
served
the
community
at DPD
from
1975
until
2001
when he
retired
as Chief
of
Police.
He
served
as
Sheriff
from
2009
until
his
death in
December
of 2020.
Following
his
graduation
from
Cass
Technical
High
School
in 1975,
Napoleon
was
recruited
to the
police
academy
during
Mayor
Coleman
A.
Young’s
drive to
diversify
DPD. He
was
quickly
identified
as a
promising
leader,
rapidly
rising
as the
youngest
to
achieve
each
rank,
including
inspector,
commander,
deputy
chief of
police
and
chief of
police
at the
age of
43.
“I’m
honored
and
thankful
that
Mayor
Duggan
and the
members
of City
Council
have
decided
to pay
homage
to my
father
in such
a
grandiose
and
public
manner,”
said
Napoleon’s
daughter
Tiffani
Jackson.
“This
building
would
mean the
world to
him.”
When
he was
inspector
in the
late
1980s,
Benny
was in
charge
of gang
squad
where he
transformed
the unit
to not
only
reduce
crime
but also
establish
relationships
with the
community,
which
today is
often
called
community
policing.
He and
his team
held
meetings
with
neighborhood
residents
and
pastors
to work
together
to
eliminate
the
potential
for
crime to
happen
in the
first
place.
He
spearheaded
a
partnership
with the
Bureau
of
Alcohol,
Tobacco
and
Firearms
to
dismantle
major
gang
operations
including
Latin
Counts,
Cobras,
Young
Boys
Incorporated
and Pony
Down.
While
the
commanding
officer
for gang
squad,
Benny
was also
in
charge
of the
tactical
services
section
for the
uniform
officers.
During
his
tenure
as chief
of
police,
DPD
reduced
activity,
participation
and
victimization
of youth
as a
result
of gang
activities
by
enforcing
curfew
ordinance
and the
ordinance
regarding
minor
unlawfully
in a
public
place.
Based on
these
actions,
DPD
reduced
shooting
related
deaths
of
minors
by 95
percent
during
Benny’s
tenure
as
chief.
“The
Honorable
Wayne
County
Sheriff
Benny
Napoleon
will
forever
be
remembered
for his
outstanding
leadership,
exceptional
service
and
sense of
integrity,”
said
Chief
Craig.
“What
better
way to
honor
his
memory
and
years of
dedication
than by
renaming
this
facility
after
him? It
will
truly
represent
the
legacy
he
brought
to this
department
and the
great
city of
Detroit.”
Council
President
Brenda
Jones,
speaking
on
behalf
of her
colleagues
enthusiastically
supported
the
gesture
of
naming
the
facility
after
the
popular
Chief of
Police,
Sheriff
and
community
leader.
“Benny,
as he
was
affectionately
known by
everyone
he met,
was the
true
essence
of a
Detroiter,”
said
Council
President
Brenda
Jones.
“It is
only
fitting
that his
legacy
have a
permanent
presence
in
Detroit
by the
name
Benny N.
Napoleon
being
affixed
to this
brick
and
mortar
building
that
represents
his
immovable
faith in
God and
his
strength
as a
leader.”
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