Cleveland Public Safety Director Karrie Howard presents his budget to City Council. Credit: Stephanie Casanova / Signal Cleveland

Karrie Howard, who has served since 2020 as Cleveland’s safety director, resigned Friday, City Hall announced. 

Mayor Justin Bibb’s office shared few details about Howard’s decision to step down. When he took office in 2022, Bibb retained Howard as the head of Cleveland’s safety forces – a job he also held under prior Mayor Frank Jackson. 

Police Chief Wayne Drummond will become acting safety director. Deputy Chief Dorothy Todd will move up to the job of chief of police permanently.

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Government Reporter
I follow how decisions made at Cleveland City Hall and Cuyahoga County headquarters ripple into the neighborhoods. I keep an eye on the power brokers and political organizers who shape our government. I am a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and have covered politics and government in Northeast Ohio since 2012.