A newly elected member of the city’s police oversight board isn’t planning to step down despite a recent social media flap that generated calls for his resignation.
Darious Morris was sworn in last month as one of the newest members of the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners. But last week, Morris, who represents District 3, was contemplating resigning amid public backlash over his interactions with police officers online.
Morris publicly complained about interactions with officers in the city’s 9th Precinct, and was accused of doxxing multiple Detroit police officers on social media. The National Association of Police Organizations last week sent a letter to the police board, calling for Morris to resign. Members of the Detroit Police Department also urged Morris to step down during last week’s BOPC meeting.
The disagreement was fueled by a decision by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office to reissue a gun charge case against Morris that had been dismissed in 2022. In recent days, Morris apologized on Facebook for “my social media negligence,” and noted his efforts to connect with leaders of the 9th Precinct “to admit that I took things too far on social media and that I could have went a better route.”
On Monday, Morris’ attorneys called a press conference to announce that Morris won’t be stepping down from the board, in part, due to a wave of support from community members.
“We want to clarify for the record that Darious Morris will continue to serve the people that have elected him,” said Morris’ attorney, Edward Martell. “To remove him from the board, or to ask him to resign from the board, would be to deprive all these Detroiters that have elected him of their right to vote.”
While campaigning last fall as a write-in candidate for BOPC in the November general election, Morris spoke about his past troubles with law enforcement candidly and said that he viewed his run as a “Detroit redemption story.”
Morris said he pleaded guilty in 2009 to impersonating a notary to change deeds, which landed him in prison for two years. In 2021, he was charged for possessing a weapon as a felon. That case was dismissed, however, when the arresting officer failed to appear in court.
Maria Miller, a spokeswoman for Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy, told BridgeDetroit in an email that the prosecutor learned of Morris’ case being dismissed “when a reporter called to inquire why the case had been dismissed.”
Miller said the dismissal occurred at the preliminary examination in March 2022 because Detroit police officer witnesses failed to appear.
“At the time it happened WCPO requested that DPD re-issue the case,” said Miller, adding that the office does this routinely when officers fail to appear in court. “We have asked that the case be re-issued. When we receive the warrant request from DPD it will be reviewed.”
Last week when media outlets began reporting about the re-issued case against Morris, he stated he was “99% sure” he would resign to protect the board from public backlash over the gun case and social media exchanges. He has since changed his tune, and his attorneys said Monday that they are prepared to represent Morris if the prosecutor’s office changes him again.
The Board of Police Commissioners is the city’s civilian oversight board, which former Mayor Coleman Young created in 1974 to help residents have recourse when dealing with police officers accused of misconduct. The board is responsible for receiving and investigating non-criminal police misconduct complaints, forwarding criminal allegations to the appropriate investigating authority and imposing or reviewing disciplinary action against any DPD employee.
Victoria Camille, the newly elected Police Commissioner for District 7, told BridgeDetroit that she’s happy to see Morris decided to “stick in there and take the opportunity to learn” how to truly provide police oversight for his constituents. Camille said she didn’t feel strongly that “he needed to go or needed to stay” on the board because that’s “a personal decision for him to make.”
“It’s not easy being in the spotlight on such a matter,” Camille said in a text message to BridgeDetroit. “Commissioner Morris’s decision is a very personal one that I’m sure he’s made with great consideration.”
Camille did add that she believes the timing of the charges being brought back up is “very suspicious.”
Eyandra Otis, who unsuccessfully ran for BOPC as a write-in for District 5, also shared support for Morris. On social media, Otis asked, “at what point can a Black man change his life and do better without having it hang over his head for life?”
“I support (Morris) to continue his work …. Check on him. See if he is OK,” Otis wrote. “He is fighting for what exactly you elected him to do, hold police accountable.”
If Morris did resign or was removed from the board, Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield would appoint his replacement with a resident from District 3, according to the City Charter. The City Council would have 30 days to confirm the appointment.