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.

[1] Born in Detroit in 1955, he was one of seven children of his mother Betty and father Harry Napoleon, who was a minister.

[3] 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.

[6] Napoleon placed second in the primary despite his most serious competition,[7] former Wayne County Prosecutor and Detroit Medical Center CEO Mike Duggan having to run as a write-in candidate,[8] and lost the mayoral race to Duggan on November 5, 2013.

In November 2020, it was announced that Napoleon had tested positive for COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan.