15th December, 2021
New York mayor-elect Eric Adams has appointed Keechant Sewell as the first female police commissioner of the NYPD in its 176 year history.
Sewell who is at present the Nassau County Chief of Detectives, will
become the city’s 45th top cop.
The NYPD is the largest police force in the United States with 52,000 members.
A 25-year veteran of the force, Sewell will be just the third African American police commissioner after Benjamin Ward, who served from 1984 to 1989 and Lee Brown from 1990-92.
“I’m very humbled to even be considered for this and it’s an extraordinary opportunity. And I take it very seriously, the historic nature of this,” the 49 year-old Queens native told New York Post.
Adams, a former NYPD captain, has long said he would appoint a woman to the post.
According to New York Post, Adams’ team launched a nationwide search, interviewing dozens of female executives.
Among the people talent-hunted were one-time Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best, former Newark Chief Ivonne Roman, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw and NYPD’s current chief of patrol, Juanita Holmes.
“Keechant Sewell is a proven crime fighter with the experience and emotional intelligence to deliver both the safety New Yorkers need and the justice they deserve,” Adams told The Post
“Chief Sewell will wake up every day laser-focused on keeping New Yorkers safe and improving our city, and I am thrilled to have her at the helm of the NYPD,” Adams said.
“I want to let them know that we are absolutely focused on violent crime. Violent crime is the No. 1 priority,” Sewell said.
She will replace Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, who was the third white male cop to run the department under outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio.