Philadelphia’s Police Commissioner, Danielle Outlaw, Resigns

Philadelphia’s Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw is voluntarily resigning her position in Philadelphia later this month. The news was announced early Tuesday morning (September 5).

Outlaw, who was the first Black woman to lead the city’s police force, has accepted a new position outside of the city.

Outlaw, who was the leader of the city’s police department for three-and-a-half years, stepped into the role just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic shut the city down. She started as the city's police commissioner on February 10, 2020.

Of course, she faced a tough job in the city during the COVID-19 pandemic and record levels of gun violence in the city.

Outlaw was often criticized by her critics, but her departure from the position was voluntary. Outlaw’s last day on the job will be September 22. She has accepted a position as a deputy security chief at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, they say.

Outlaw’s top deputy, John Stanford, will be the interim police commissioner following Outlaw’s departure, Mayor Kenney announced on Tuesday. A successor will likely be named by the city’s next mayor as Mayor Jim Kenney will leave office at the end of the year.

Typically, new mayors mark a turnover in such governmental positions. Philadelphia will elect a new mayor this November.

The city’s homicide rate is 20% lower than last year, and in recent interviews, Outlaw has said that the efforts to reduce crime in the city are working.

“We’re really beginning to see the fruits of our labor,” Outlaw said recently (via Philadelphia Inquirer). “We — not just me, all of us — have really endured some challenging times.”

In a statement issued to media on Tuesday (September 5), Philadelphia's Mayor Jim Kenney praised Outlaw for a record number of gun seizures and more.

“(She) has worked relentlessly for three and a half years during an unprecedented era in our city and a number of crisis situations," Kenney said in Tuesday's statement.