Former New Orleans Police Superintendent Michael Harrison has signed on as a consultant for the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office.
Harrison will act as a liaison with the police department to strengthen criminal cases, District Attorney Jason Williams announced on Wednesday.
Harrison served nearly three decades on New Orleans’ police force, including four years as chief, before leaving in 2019 to become Baltimore’s top cop. He inked his contract with Williams’ office on Tuesday during a news conference, saying he was “truly honored to be a part of the crime fight” in his hometown, where he has returned to live.
Williams portrayed Harrison’s role as a “law enforcement affairs liaison and community affairs advisor.” Harrison will help shore up police investigations for prosecution and support a pilot program launched this year that identifies environmental factors that lead to high-crime areas, Williams said.
“Having someone like Michael Harrison help steer that, guide that, council that — that’s invaluable,” Williams said.
Harrison announced his retirement from the Baltimore Police Department in June and went on to launch a consultancy. In that role, he said, he’s worked with law enforcement agencies in Memphis and Philadelphia. But “there was absolutely no way I was going to do any work in the profession of policing and not do it in the city where I was born and raised,” Harrison said.
Harrison graduated from McDonogh 35 High School in New Orleans and rose through the New Orleans police ranks. He was serving as commander of the 7th District in 2014 when then-Mayor Mitch Landrieu tapped him for superintendent shortly after Ronal Serpas’ retirement.
Harrison oversaw the department through several reforms under a long-running federal consent decree, staying on in Mayor LaToya Cantrell's administration before joining Baltimore’s police force, which is also under federal monitoring.
Details of the district attorney's contract with Harrison were not immediately available.
A police spokesperson said the department welcomes Harrison's help. "His experience having led two major metropolitan police departments combined with his personal knowledge and understanding of New Orleans’ unique culture and community will be valuable assets in our agencies’ shared mission in combating all aspects of crime," the spokesperson wrote in an email.