NEW YORK (AP) — New York Metropolis Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, the primary lady to carry the place, is stepping down after 18 months on the job.
Sewell, who was appointed by Mayor Eric Adams, introduced the resignation in an e mail to division employees Monday afternoon.
“Whereas my time right here will come to an in depth, I’ll by no means step away from advocacy and help for the NYPD, and I’ll all the time be a champion for the folks of New York Metropolis,” she wrote.
Adams, a Democrat, confirmed the transfer in a press release, thanking Sewell for her “steadfast management.”
Sewell took over as commissioner when Adams, a former NYPD captain, grew to become mayor in January 2022, having pledged beforehand to call a girl to the put up.
Throughout her transient tenure, she oversaw a lower in some classes of crime – together with murders – whereas contending with a number of high-profile crises, together with the deadly capturing of two officers throughout her first month on the job. In a press release, Patrick Lynch, the president of the Police Benevolent Affiliation, stated her management can be “sorely missed.”
Sewell shied from New York’s highlight, hardly ever making herself obtainable to press, whilst Adams has made crime-fighting a centerpiece of his administration.
She additionally confronted hypothesis that she was not actually in charge of the division, fueled partly by Adams’ choice to nominate a former NYPD chief and key ally, Phillip Banks, as a deputy mayor of public security. Banks has been holding weekly public briefings on crime, typically with out Sewell in attendance.
NYPD commissioners typically serve abbreviated tenures in one of many highest-pressure, most politically difficult jobs in policing. Sewell’s predecessor, Dermot Shea, was within the put up for 2 years. His predecessor, James O’Neill, lasted three. Earlier than that, William Bratton served lower than three years in his second stint as commissioner, having served for simply over two years beneath Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
The notable exception is former commissioner Raymond Kelly, who served for 16 months beneath former Mayor David Dinkins, then returned and was commissioner for all 12 years that Michael Bloomberg was mayor.
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Sewell began with the Nassau County Police Division as a patrol officer in 1997, then grew to become a precinct commander, head of main instances, a high hostage negotiator and at last chief of detectives, the place she oversaw a employees of about 350 — about 1% the scale of the NYPD’s unformed ranks.
In his assertion, Adams stated Sewell deserved credit score for combatting crime in New York Metropolis.
“The commissioner labored almost 24 hours a day, seven days every week for a 12 months and a half, and we’re all grateful for her service. New Yorkers owe her a debt of gratitude.”
The Adams’ administration has seen a collection of high-profile departures in latest weeks, together with his high housing official, Jessica Katz, and town’s effectivity officer, Melanie La Rocca.