Detroit police commissioner turns out to be felon who once threatened to shoot a cop

A recently elected Detroit police commissioner has withdrawn his promise to resign, even after a local news outlet made public his criminal past — as well as his antagonistic interactions with cops.

On December 17, Darious Morris, 38, was sworn in as one of nearly a dozen members of the Board of Police Commissioners, entrusted with overseeing the Detroit Police Department. Morris won the seat representing District 3 on a write-in campaign after no other name appeared on the ballot.

‘If you would have put your hands on him, I would have shot you!’

However, a report from WXYZ-TV just a few weeks later led Morris to consider tendering his resignation.

Morris has a criminal record that extends all the way back to 2009, when he pled no contest to felony fraud and impersonating a public officer charges in connection with what he described as “real estate fraud.”

“It was taking homes from the bank that the bank got foreclosed on people, and we were fraudulently taking the deeds to the homes and deeding them over,” Morris told the outlet.

While he was sentenced to probation in these cases, he was charged with fraud again a year later and wound up behind bars for two years, WXYZ reported. After his release, Morris apparently lived the next 12 years as a law-abiding citizen.

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That sterling record changed in May 2023, when he involved himself in a relatively routine traffic stop of a mini-bike driver in the neighboring city of Warren.

It turns out the bike was not street-legal, and the driver did not have a license, police said. Morris stood at a distance during the stop, claiming he wanted to make sure the cops were acting appropriately.

Morris also seemingly suggested that he was a member of law enforcement, donning a silver police badge purchased online. According to Warren police, Morris falsely told the officers he was a “Detroit Police Department Chaplain at the 9th Precinct.”

Bodycam footage shows one Warren officer ordering Morris: “Stand by the vehicle, please. If you interfere with this stop, understand you are not allowed to.”

After Morris later repeatedly calls the officer an “idiot,” the cop responds, “I’m done. I’m done talking to you,” according to the video.

The officer then attempts to get in his vehicle when Morris cries out: “If you would have put your hands on him, I would have shot you!”

Morris later pled guilty to assaulting, resisting, or obstructing a police officer and was sentenced to probation. He admitted to WXYZ that he had lashed out in “anger,” knowing the remark “would upset” the officer. He also claimed he had not been armed at the time and that he has since apologized to the officer.

‘No matter what was said previously, right now, he’s not resigning.’

Just since his election in November, Morris, who has dubbed himself “the People’s Commissioner,” has rankled local officers with his officiousness, bluster, and accusations of mistreatment.

On December 28, he interrupted police rendering assistance to a drug-overdose victim. “We’re trying to help someone here,” one officer reportedly pleaded with Morris, who was attempting to speak with them.

Morris later filed a complaint against that officer. DPD told WXYZ an investigation into the officer’s actions has been opened.

Morris also caused a scene at a Detroit precinct, refusing to go through a metal detector like all other visitors. When a cop demanded he comply with the policy, Morris shot back, “Put your information on a piece of paper so I can get you wrote up.”

Morris even called for ousting a white Detroit police commander whose precinct he implied is racist.

“A lot of black citizens have been reporting to em that they are being mistreated by officers out of that precinct. I even experienced disrespect by one of their officers,” Morris wrote in a since-deleted social media post, according to the Midwesterner.

“Get rid of Commander Svec immediately!” the post added.

At least one police group has called for Morris to resign, accusing him of spewing “alarming anti-police rhetoric,” attempting to “dox” police officers, and not living up to his promises.

“Upon being sworn in on December 17, 2025, Commissioner Morris stated that he was eager to improve the relationship between the youth of Detroit and the Police Department. Not even a month later, he is instigating citizens against police officers,” National Association of Police Organizations Executive Director William Johnson wrote in a letter to the Board of Police Commissioners.

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Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images

Shortly after the WXYZ-TV story aired last week, Morris initially agreed to step down from the Board of Police Commissioners. “I already have my city-issued laptop and all my stuff packed up and ready,” he told the outlet, acknowledging that the public may view the BOPC “in an unfavorable light” on his account.

At a press conference Monday, however, Morris’ attorneys walked that resignation pledge back. “No matter what was said previously, right now, he’s not resigning,” insisted Mohammed Nasser.

Of note, Morris could still be in trouble with the law. Back in 2021, weapons charges against Morris were dropped after an officer did not appear at the scheduled hearing, but the office of Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy claimed that those charges may now be refiled.

“We have asked that the case be re-issued. When we receive the warrant request from (Detroit police) it will be reviewed,” spokesperson Maria Miller told the Detroit Free Press.

About these pending weapons charges, Nasser said, “We would certainly advise our client not to resign and allow the criminal case — if it comes — to be addressed in due course. Reissuances do happen. In our practice, we see it all the time. The fact that it is coming many years later, I’ll leave that for everyone to decipher as to what they believe the reason may be.”

The BOPC did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

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