Eric Adams, the New York City Mayor-elect named Keechant Sewell as the first female police commissioner of NYPD. Here’s all about the woman leading the US’ largest police department.
Who is Keechant Sewell?
Keechant Sewell, aged 49 is the Chief of Detectives in Nassau County, The Queens native will be replacing Dermot Shea as the police commissioner. Shea, an NYPD cop was appointed by the then Mayor Bill de Blasio in December 2019. “I’ve been policing for 25 years, so, I’ve actually got some sort of a grasp on what I think works and doesn’t work,” stated Sewell in an interview with the New York Post.
Mayor-elect Adam has been slow in naming key members of his administration. He also named David Banks, a senior educator as New York City’s next school commissioner. The post of the police commissioner is one of the most important picks. After all, as a former police captain, Adams served in NYPD for 22 years. He also helped in turning the mayor race into a referendum on public safety after the black lives matter protest spurred calls for defunding the police.
How is Eric Adams transforming NYC and the NYPD?
Adams also focused on the high-profile shootings in Times Square, subway attacks, and hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Addressing people, Adams assured that he will try his best to rectify the problems despite the reducing crime rates. “We’re going to finally bring the entire city, the largest police department in the country, into the 21st century of women leadership in law enforcement,” owed Adams. The mayor was once beaten by police as a teenager but went on to become a police officer, mayor, and the founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care. The group aims at creating a better relationship between police officers and the communities.
He assured that he and his police chief will be repairing the NYPD’s public image. The police force is accused of using excessive force against threats of police brutality. “New York City police officers have passed our breaking point. We need to fix that break to get our police department and our city back on course. We look forward to working with her to accomplish that goal,” stated Patrick Lynch. Lynch is the president of the Police Benevolent Association and represents the NYPD’s rank and file officers. Lynch stated that the selection of Keechant Sewell as the commissioner was well welcomed by the cops.