Welcome to Wayne County, Michigan

Benny N. Napoleon - Wayne County Sheriff

 Sheriff Benny N. Napoleon is committed to ensuring that everyone in Wayne County, Michigan enjoys the highest quality of life possible. He is a lifelong resident of Wayne County, having been educated in the Detroit Public School system and graduated from Cass Technical High School. Sheriff Napoleon’s extensive history in law enforcement began when he joined the Detroit Police Department in 1975 as a trainee police officer and was admitted to the Detroit Police Academy in June of 1975. He served the Detroit Police Department in many patrol, investigative, undercover and administrative capacities. He began his career walking a beat in the Second (Vernor) Precinct. He quickly rose through the ranks of the police department, being promoted to sergeant in 1983; to lieutenant in 1985; to inspector in 1987; to commander in 1993; to deputy chief in 1994; to assistant chief in 1995; and was appointed Chief of Police by the Honorable Mayor Dennis W. Archer in 1998. After 26 plus years of distinguished service, Chief Napoleon retired from the Detroit Police Department in 2001.

Some of the highlights of Sheriff Napoleon’s career include supervising the investigation that led to the successful apprehension and prosecution of the parties responsible for the felonious assault on international figure skating champion, Nancy Kerrigan; supervising the investigation that led to the swift apprehension of ten (10) escapees from the Ryan Correctional Facility in Detroit; and drafting and implementing a crime reduction plan which led to an unprecedented thirty percent (30%) reduction in violent crime in the City of Detroit during his three (3) year tenure as Chief of Police.

Benny Napoleon earned his Associate’s Degree in Law Enforcement, Cum Laude, from Mercy College of Detroit in 1980; his B.A. in Criminal Justice, Cum Laude, from Mercy College of Detroit in 1982; and his Juris Doctor Degree from the Detroit College of Law in 1986. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy; the United States Secret Service Dignitary Protection School; the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command; and the Aresty Institute of Executive Development at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan and has been licensed to practice law since 1987.

Benny Napoleon has a long history of community service. He was a baseball coach for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Michigan; a basketball coach for the Detroit Police Athletic League; a student mentor for the Detroit Public Schools; Chairperson of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission; and is a life member of the NAACP.

In addition to his role as Sheriff, he is also an attorney in private practice and an adjunct professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Phoenix (Detroit Campus).

Benny Napoleon’s awards and honors are too numerous to list. He is single and has one child, Tiffani Chanel.