City Of Detroit To Rename DPD Facility After Benny Napoleon

(CBS DETROIT) - The city of Detroit will rename a Detroit Police Department building after former Chief of Police and Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon, who passed in December 2020 after a battle with COVID-19.

Mayor Mike Duggan, Police Chief James Craig, Council President Brenda Jones and members of Napoleon's family announced plans on Wednesday to name the DPD building at 1200 Oakman Boulevard the Benny N. Napoleon Intelligence and Training Center, in recognition of Napoleon's legendary work with Detroit's gang unit and his personal commitment to officer training.

The building, which the city of Detroit purchased last year from Focus:HOPE for $1 million, currently houses DPD's Organized Crime and Gang Intelligence Units. A second building on the site will be renovated into a state-of-the-art training facility for officers to develop and sharpen their skills. Another portion of the building will be used to store DPD records.

A graduate of Cass Technical High School, Napoleon served the community at DPD from 1975 until 2001 when he retired as police chief. He served as Wayne County Sheriff from 2009 until his death.

City officials plan to hold an official ribbon-cutting ceremony later this year.

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