DETROIT, Mich. (WXYZ) — Years before Darious Morris would be elected to the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners, body camera video obtained by 7 News Detroit shows the night he was arrested by Detroit Police.
The video could prove crucial as the Wayne County Prosecutor decides whether to re-authorize gun charges against Morris, who is in his first month as a police commissioner.
See the video:
The video from November 2021 shows Morris at a gas station in Detroit as officers approach him. Officers said they found him with a gun that he should not have had because of prior felony convictions.
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The 2021 weapons charges would be authorized, but later dismissed when officers did not show up in court.
In the video, Morris is observed placing a police badge around his neck as officers approach him, reminiscent of a scene that would play out two years later when Morris would come into contact with Warren Police. Again, he placed a police badge around his neck.
During the interaction with Warren Police, Morris would threaten to shoot an officer who he believed was disrespectful to a motorist he pulled over on a traffic stop. He has since apologized.
Warren Police later claimed Morris said he was a “Detroit Police Department Chaplain at the 9th Precinct," which he is not. Morris denies saying he was a DPD chaplain.
Morris told 7 Investigator Ross Jones that he ordered the police badge online. He said his ministry, "Dee Lee Community Impact Ministry," is licensed with the state.
In the 2021 video, Morris can be heard telling officers that he is a chaplain who works extensively with police in Detroit.
During the stop, police question Morris about a weapon.
"It might have came over a little bit,” Morris can be heard saying on body camera, “but I usually open carry it.”
A sergeant then asks: "Hey Darious, have you done prison time before?"
"No, sir," Morris said, even though he had previously spent two years in prison after pleading guilty to operating a criminal enterprise related to alleged deed fraud.
Morris spends several minutes showing officers photos on his cell phone, telling them about Detroit officers he has worked with and knows.
Later on, an officer again asks Morris: “Are you sure you’ve never been to prison?”
“No sir,” he replies, saying that he’s not been convicted of any felonies, even though Morris had pleaded guilty to one and no contest to two others. All three felonies stemmed from alleged fraud.
Later, with Morris out of earshot, the sergeant huddles with his officers after running Morris’s name.
“He probably okie dokes a lot of cops with that badge,” the sergeant says. “He’s real quick to pull it out, show all his pictures of him on his phone and stuff. He’s got two prior felonies, a CCW.”
When later asked by an officer why he lied, Morris responds: “I had HYTA probation. Holmes Youthful Trainee Act probation.”
After being searched, an officer removes the badge from around Morris’s neck and asks: “Who gave you this badge?"
"Our commissioner. Bishop Moore," Morris replies.
It is not clear who Morris was referring to. In 2021, Ricardo Moore had been elected to the board weeks before Morris's arrest, but he was not a bishop.
Commissioner Cedric Banks, also elected in 2021, was a bishop, but says he only met Morris last month. He says he was the only bishop on the board.
Morris did not respond to calls or texts seeking comment. His lawyers said they could not comment on the 2021 gun case, expecting that new charges could be imminent.
Even if charges come, they say Morris won’t resign his position.
Last week, after 7 News Detroit revealed Morris's criminal history, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's office requested that DPD resubmit a warrant for charges related to Morris's 2021 arrest.
Contact 7 Investigator Ross Jones at ross.jones@wxyz.com or at (248) 827-9466.