As a result of the City of Warren’s extensive national search to hire a police commissioner, Mayor Lori M. Stone recently announced the appointment of Eric Hawkins to be the “top cop” of Michigan’s third-largest municipality. According to Stone, Hawkins, who is African American, brings three-plus decades of exemplary policing experience, much of which at leadership levels. He has also effectively strategized policing that focuses on building and maintaining strong relationships with members of diverse communities.
“Eric Hawkins has demonstrated unparalleled dedication to public safety, innovation, and community collaboration throughout his distinguished career,” said Stone. “We are excited to welcome him as the leader of our police department as we continue to focus on building a safer and stronger community.”
Before his appointment in Warren, Hawkins was the Chief of Police in Albany, New York, where he is credited with implementing policing methods to reduce violence and crime. In addition, he modernized the department’s operation by upgrading technology and infrastructure to better serve the communities in the State of New York’s capital city of Albany.
“Since Chief Hawkins joined us in 2018, he has led our department with integrity and dedication, implementing crucial policing reforms and making Albany a safer city,” said Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan. “Under his leadership, we’ve seen gun violence decrease, a record number of illegal guns taken off the streets, and homicide cases closed at nearly double the national average. I am deeply grateful for Chief Hawkins’ six-plus years of service as our Chief of police and wish him all the best in his new role. Albany will always appreciate the impact he made here.”
Hawkins is no stranger to suburban Detroit cities. He is a native of southeastern Michigan. Hawkins attended Central Michigan University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in public administration and master’s in administration. Hawkins also earned a Juris Doctor (JD) from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School.
Hawkins’ professional career in law enforcement is rooted in Southfield, Michigan, where he was a police cadet in 1990 before sworn in as a Southfield police officer the following year. Overall, he spent 27 years with the Southfield Police Department, six as its chief of police. Throughout his tenure as chief, Hawkins was lauded for his law enforcement work to reduce crime and strengthen relationships between the police, the city’s diverse population, and the local school systems in Southfield. Hawkins is credited with forming the Police Chief’s Citizens Advisory Board, created to act as a resource for the formation of strategies, development of community policing concepts, and increasing public awareness regarding safety. After retiring from the Southfield Police Department, Hawkins was recruited by the City of Albany to become its police chief on Sept. 7, 2018.
It is reported that Hawkins will officially leave his top Albany police post in early December 2024 and start the new chapter of his distinguished law enforcement leadership career in Warren in mid-to-late December. When officially sworn in as chief, Hawkins will inherit a police force that has been in and out of the news over the past years.
In March of 2024, news broke that Mayor Stone fired veteran Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer, reportedly one month before he was scheduled to retire. Dwyer had almost 60 years in law enforcement, collectively with Police Departments in Detroit, Farmington Hills, and Warren. Charles Rushton has been the acting interim police commissioner in Warren, bridging Dwyer’s departure and Hawkins’ recent appointment.
Additionally, according to a May 5, 2023, article published by the Macomb Daily, a federal jury awarded a former Black female police officer in Warren a monetary victory in a court case centered on gender and racial bias in the city. In 2018, a Detroit newspaper published a story stating that of the 203 sworn police officers in Warren, only two were African American. In the ensuing years, the number of Black and Hispanic officers has increased somewhat.
Earlier this year, Stone held numerous public forums to better gauge what the citizens of Warren wanted in their next chief. Based on what Stone gathered at the public forums, she is confident that Hawkins is the right leader to head the city of Warren’s police force regardless of his ethnicity and carry out the broad mission to protect and serve the people and businesses of Warren.
“Warren has some very unique characteristics. It is the third-largest city in the state, so not everyone has the background and experience to manage a department of our size, to manage a community that is approaching 140,000 residents,” Stone told a local media outlet. “In addition to the resident population of the city, Warren has thousands of people who come into the city during the business day at the GM Tech Center and TACOM alone. Warren is diverse in socioeconomics, as well as racial and cultural diversity. Not every community gives its law enforcement leadership this kind of experience.”
Hawkins is eager to return to southeastern Michigan, the origin of his personal and professional lives, to begin a new chapter as Warren’s top police official.
“I am deeply honored to serve as the Police Commissioner for the City of Warren,” Hawkins said in a statement. “I look forward to collaborating with the community and building on the strong foundation of safety and trust that exists within the City of Warren.”
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