Deputy Mayor Ike McKinnon to retire

fter more five decades serving the city of Detroit, Deputy Mayor Ike McKinnon is set to retire, effective July 1.

“It’s hard to think of Detroit without Ike McKinnon as part of city government,” Mayor Mike Duggan says in a press release. “He has dedicated so much of his life and career to this city, and people just love him for the example he has set for so many young people.”

A veteran of the Detroit Police Department, McKinnon, 72, joined in 1965 and rose through the ranks until 1984 when he left to become a professor and director of public safety for the University of Detroit Mercy. He returned to DPD as police chief in 1994, a position he held for four years.

In 2013, he was appointed by Mayor Mike Duggan to join his transition team, for which he was granted a two-year leave of absence from UDM, and later a six month extension. McKinnon will return to teaching at the university following his retirement from the city.

“Dr. McKinnon has been a valuable asset to the city’s resurgence, and we look forward to his return so that he can share his insightful lessons in leadership with our students, faculty and staff,” Detroit Mercy President Antoine Garibaldi says.

In addition to teaching, McKinnon says he will focus on writing his next book. We featured McKinnon in the March 2004 issue of BLAC (then known as African-American Family) about his book In The Line of Duty, which pays tribute to Michigan’s fallen officers.

“Although I’m leaving this job, I will not be leaving the city, and I will continue to educate and speak out for our youth and the poor,” McKinnon says. “I will continue to do whatever I can to have an impact on their lives and in our city.”

A replacement for McKinnon is pending.