Benny Napoleon

{{short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Benny N. Napoleon | image = Benny Napoleon.jpeg | caption = Napoleon in 2013 | office = Wayne County Sheriff | term_start = July 6, 2009 | term_end = December 17, 2020 | predecessor = Warren Evans | successor = Raphael Washington | office1 = Chief of the Detroit Police Department | 2blankname1 = Mayor | 2namedata1 = Dennis Archer | term_start1 = July 1998 | term_end1 = July 15, 2001 | predecessor1 = Isaiah McKinnon | successor1 = Charles Wilson | birth_date = {{birth date|1955|9|10}} | birth_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and given age|2020|12|17|65}} | death_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | party = Democratic | spouse = Lisa Cunningham (divorced) | profession = Police officer | education = Mercy College of Detroit (BA)<br />Detroit College of Law (JD) | website = {{URL|bennynapoleon.com}} }}

'''Benny Nelson Napoleon''' (September 10, 1955 – December 17, 2020) was an American attorney, law enforcement officer, and politician who served as the sheriff of Wayne County, Michigan from 2009 to 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the chief of the Detroit Police Department, and was also a candidate for the office of mayor of Detroit in the 2013 election.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-12-18|title=Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon dies at age 65 after battle with COVID-19|url=https://www.wxyz.com/news/wayne-county-sheriff-benny-napoleon-dies-at-age-65-after-battle-with-covid-19|access-date=2020-12-20|website=WXYZ|language=en}}</ref>

== Early life and education == Born in Detroit in 1955, he was one of seven children of his mother Betty and father Harry Napoleon, who was a minister. Napoleon graduated from Cass Technical High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Detroit Mercy and Juris Doctor from the Detroit College of Law.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Gray|first1=Kathleen|last2=Ives|first2=Mike|date=2020-12-18|title=Benny Napoleon, Michigan Sheriff and Ex-Detroit Police Chief, Dies at 65|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/18/us/benny-napoleon-dead.html|access-date=2020-12-20|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

== Career == Napoleon entered the Detroit Police Department in 1975. He was also a member of the Detroit Police basketball team that played in international police tournaments in Ontario, Canada from 1978 to 1980. He served as Detroit Police Chief from 1998 to 2001 under Dennis Archer. In 2004, he was made Assistant Wayne County Executive, and in 2009, he became Wayne County sheriff.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/benny-napoleon/|title=Bio of Benny Napoleon|publisher=Huffington Post}}</ref>

In 2017, Napoleon was wiretapped by the FBI as part of a corruption investigation.<ref>{{cite web |author=Ikonomova |first=Violet |date=29 December 2017 |title=Reports: Detroit city councilman and former state rep. targeted in public corruption probe |url=https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2017/12/29/reports-detroit-city-councilman-and-former-state-rep-targeted-in-public-corruption-probe |accessdate=4 January 2018 |publisher=Detroit Metro Times |archive-date=5 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180105070339/https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2017/12/29/reports-detroit-city-councilman-and-former-state-rep-targeted-in-public-corruption-probe |url-status=dead }}</ref> No charges were ever filed on Napoleon.

===2013 Detroit mayoral election=== {{main|2013 Detroit mayoral election}}

A Democrat, Napoleon entered Detroit politics in 2013, announcing his intentions to run for mayor in the city's non-partisan primary to replace Dave Bing, who announced he would not seek re-election after the appointment of an emergency manager for the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.freep.com/article/20130326/NEWS01/130326126/Benny-Napoleon-kicks-off-bid-to-be-Detroit-s-next-mayor |title=Benny Napoleon kicks off bid to be Detroit's next mayor |work=Detroit Free Press |author=Matt Helms |date=March 26, 2013 |accessdate=March 27, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/bing-wont-seek-re-election-detroit-mayor|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625161949/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/bing-wont-seek-re-election-detroit-mayor|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-06-25|title=Bing won't seek re-election as Detroit mayor|work=The Big Story}}</ref> During the primary campaign, he referred to himself as a "businessman with a badge".<ref>{{cite tweet|number=364511632107773952|user=BennyNapoleon|title=I am a business man with a badge, and together we will transform this city one square mile at a time.... |date=5 August 2013}}</ref> Napoleon placed second in the primary despite his most serious competition,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://michiganradio.org/post/duggan-makes-history-winning-write-campaign-napoleon-rallies-supporters |title=Duggan makes history with winning write-in campaign; Napoleon rallies supporters |work=Michigan Radio |author1=Sarah Cwiek |author2=Steve Carmody |date=August 7, 2013 |accessdate=December 2, 2017}}</ref> former Wayne County Prosecutor and Detroit Medical Center CEO Mike Duggan having to run as a write-in candidate,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/22712904/mike-duggan-will-run-for-detroit-mayor-as-a-write-in-candidate|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913014521/http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/22712904/mike-duggan-will-run-for-detroit-mayor-as-a-write-in-candidate|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-09-13|title=Mike Duggan will run for Detroit mayor as write-in candidate|work=FOX 2 Detroit|date=June 28, 2013|access-date=2017-12-02}}</ref> and lost the mayoral race to Duggan on November 5, 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/05/-mike-duggan-detroit-mayor-_n_4221656.html |title=Mike Duggan Becomes Detroit's First White Mayor In 40 Years |author=Ashley Woods |work=Huffington Post |date=November 6, 2013 |accessdate=December 2, 2013}}</ref>

== Illness and death == In November 2020, it was announced that Napoleon had tested positive for COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan. He was admitted to a local hospital on November 21 and placed on a ventilator.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Khan|first=Nisa|title=Wayne County Sheriff Napoleon on ventilator during COVID-19 fight|url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2020/11/29/wayne-county-sheriff-napoleon-ventilator-covid-19/6455731002/|access-date=2020-12-18|website=Detroit Free Press|language=en-US}}</ref> On December 17, after various sources reported that Napoleon had died, his family released a statement on Facebook that he remained in stable condition.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-12-18|title=Family of Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon continue to 'enlist prayers' for his recovery|url=https://www.wxyz.com/news/family-of-wayne-county-sheriff-benny-napoleon-continue-to-enlist-prayers-for-his-recovery|access-date=2020-12-18|website=WXYZ|language=en}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Napoleon died later that same day.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-12-17|title=Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon dies at 65 from COVID-19|url=https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/wayne-county-sheriff-benny-napoleon-dies-at-65-from-covid-19|access-date=2020-12-18|website=FOX 2 Detroit|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-12-18|title=Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon dies from COVID-19|url=https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2020/12/18/wayne-county-sheriff-benny-napoleon-dies-from-covid-19-family-says/|access-date=2020-12-18|website=WDIV|language=en}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{official website|http://bennynapoleon.com/}} *{{C-SPAN|72648}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Napoleon, Benny N.}} Category:1955 births Category:2020 deaths Category:21st-century Michigan politicians Category:21st-century African-American businesspeople Category:21st-century American businesspeople Category:African-American people in Michigan politics Category:African-American sheriffs Category:Businesspeople from Detroit Category:Candidates in the 2013 United States elections Category:Cass Technical High School alumni Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan Category:Detroit Police Department chiefs Category:Lawyers from Detroit Category:Michigan Democrats Category:Politicians from Detroit Category:Sheriffs of Wayne County, Michigan Category:University of Detroit Mercy alumni Category:Detroit College of Law alumni Category:21st-century African-American politicians