Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer said he would retire from law enforcement sometime this year to pursue elected office as a member of the Oakland County Board of Commissioners.

By Brian C. Louwers
C & G Staff Writer

WARREN — Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer has confirmed that he plans to leave the Warren Police Department later this year and retire from law enforcement to seek election to the Oakland County Board of Commissioners.

At a press conference in Farmington Hills on March 2, Dwyer, 69, of Farmington Hills, officially announced his intention to run as a Republican for a seat representing District 14 on the Oakland County board.

Mayor Jim Fouts tapped Dwyer to lead the Warren Police Department as its commissioner in January 2008. Dwyer came to Warren after serving 23 years as the police chief of Farmington Hills. He had been considering a run for the Michigan Senate prior to his appointment in Warren.

Dwyer, who did not immediately offer a timetable for his departure, said he would leave law enforcement after 48 years to seek office.

“That’s my intent right now,” Dwyer said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity that Mayor James Fouts gave me to make a difference in the city of Warren.”

Dwyer said he previously committed to spending two years in Warren and that he was pleased with what he’d achieved in that time. He said his accomplished goals included a 40 percent reduction in violent crime, according to FBI statistics. He also cited a high-profile crackdown on narcotics and an increased number of community policing programs among his accomplishments.

Dwyer said he would not need to start campaigning until June, but the length of his future atop the Warren Police Department remained unclear in the wake of his announcement. He originally said he and Fouts had discussed the possibility of him staying on as Warren’s police commissioner even if he were elected to the county board, but that seemed unlikely based on Fouts’ remarks.

“I would say this. I have shared with him that I think it would be very difficult for him to serve two masters. The idea that he could be Warren’s police commissioner and a county commissioner in Oakland County is just inconceivable,” Fouts said. “I think if he’s elected, then obviously he will move on and become a county commissioner, and at that point, he would move on — and hopefully it doesn’t boil down to that. He’s a leader. He’s an executive. He’s not a legislator.”

Fouts has consistently praised Dwyer and his accomplishments, calling him, “as close to being irreplaceable as any person on my staff” on March 3.

The mayor added that Dwyer’s departure “would be a great disappointment.”

The filing deadline for candidates running for the Oakland County Board of Commissioners is 4 p.m. on May 11.

Oakland County’s District 14 includes the city of Farmington and a portion of Farmington Hills.

You can reach Staff Writer Brian C. Louwers at brianlouwers@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1089.