First female NYPD commissioner can't do this anymore

 

 

City & State

New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell is resigning from her job as top cop, ending her 18-month tenure amid an ongoing power struggle with City Hall.

In a statement on Monday evening, Mayor Eric Adams thanked Sewell for her leadership. “When we came into office, crime was trending upwards, and thanks to the brave men and women of the NYPD, most of the major crime categories are now down,” the emailed statement read. “The commissioner worked nearly 24 hours a day, seven days a week for a year and a half, and we are all grateful for her service. New Yorkers owe her a debt of gratitude.”

But even if Adams has publicly praised his commissioner, there has been tension behind the scenes. Sewell wasn’t able to make even simple moves like promoting a cop to detective without approval from City Hall, the New York Post reported Saturday. Police insiders have long said it seemed like Adams and his Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks – both of whom are retired police officers – were bigfooting Sewell, and the problem reportedly got worse when the commissioner followed through on disciplining Chief of Department Jeff Maddrey for wrongly intervening in an arrest. Maddrey is a favorite of Adams and others in City Hall, and the mayor seemed to undermine Sewell by publicly defending Maddrey. 

One City Council member who asked for anonymity to discuss a developing situation, suggested that Sewell leaving One Police Plaza was more a question of when than if. “If someone is surprised,” they said, “that’s because they haven’t been paying attention.”

 

Cannot blame her at all, live long and prosper Commissioner Sewell.

Mayor Eric Adams wants you to goo goo. pic.twitter.com/Vp9xVA7dIE

— JQ LLC (@ImpunityCity) September 1, 2022

Caption the Mayor and the NYPD Commissioner

Caption Commissioner Sewell

 

  

NY Post 

City straphangers have been more likely to be victims of crime in the last two-and-a-half years compared to before the pandemic, The Post previously reported.

Killings in the subway system since 2020 have also skyrocketed to the highest annual levels in 25 years as the city grapples with an overall spike in random violence, NYPD stats show.

The system had seen nine murders so far this year as of Oct. 31, compared to six during that time period last year, according to the newly released data, according to the newly released data.

The transit violence that has prompted officials to deploy more police officers underground, with the state footing the bill for overtime.

But noteworthy and heinous crimes have persisted, including back-to-back stabbings last Tuesday night that left three people injured including a good Samaritan. 

Usually I just post a picture and just leave it there, but this capture came from the presser announcing this new deployment and that look Commissoner Sewell was giving Adams while he was reading from a script claiming subway crime was down was just too perfect. 

Also from the same press conference, this picture of Mayor Adams presenting honors to two hero cops is just inexplicable.

NYPD's proxy commissioner

THE CITY

When Philip Banks was named deputy mayor for public safety in January, Mayor Eric Adams dodged questions about his longtime pal being named an unindicted co-conspirator in a high profile police corruption case.

While most big Adams announcements took place via well-attended news conferences, Banks’ appointment emerged via a press release sent out late on a Friday. 

Since then, Banks has made few public appearances and has answered no questions.

Behind the scenes, however, he has been very busy. 

As deputy mayor for public safety, Banks is officially responsible for overseeing agencies that include the Fire Department and Department of Correction. The NYPD is not in his portfolio because the police commissioner is supposed to report directly to the mayor.

But daily schedules obtained by THE CITY show his activities for the first five months of the Adams administration, from January through May, include six sit-downs with top NYPD chiefs — without Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell.

Separately, Banks has met regularly one-on-one with Sewell on Sunday afternoons at undisclosed locations.

Those schedules —  obtained by THE CITY via the Freedom of Information Law and highly redacted by City Hall — also show Banks meeting with lobbyists from firms that sell law enforcement technologies, including weapons detection and drone surveillance systems.

Working out of a 16th floor office in an anonymous tower a block away from One Police Plaza, this former cop has been immersed in shaping NYPD policy on hot-button issues including efforts to constrain overtime, improve the city’s 911 system, and reform police discipline.

The schedules suggest the mayor even tasked him with examining the use of police traffic stops.

Multiple people from inside and outside the government who have met with Banks told THE CITY that it’s clear the deputy mayor wields tremendous power in the administration. 

On one rare occasion when Banks did make public remarks, at a City Council hearing on March 30, he spoke on Sewell’s behalf, as well as for Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice Director Deanna Logan.

“Mayor Adams’ commitment to dedicated public safety resources is demonstrated by the creation of the leadership team that sits before you today,” Banks said of the trio. “We are working together collaboratively to execute the mayor’s comprehensive vision for safety in our city.”

THE CITY sent multiple detailed questions to Adams spokesman Fabien Levy, about Banks’ schedule and his role in the administration. Levy declined to comment.

Sprawling is a good word to describe Banks’ activities as the man behind the curtain.

His daily schedules for Jan. 1 through May 31 show the deputy mayor has interviewed many candidates for top political appointments, including the top FDNY job (currently held by Acting Commissioner Laura Kavanagh); positions on the Civilian Complaint Review Board, which investigates police misconduct allegations; and the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ), which promotes criminal justice reform efforts. All are under his official purview.

Banks has met multiple times with two high-powered Adams appointees with whom he has close personal ties: his brother, Schools Chancellor David Banks, and his brother’s companion, Deputy Mayor of Strategic Initiatives Sheena Wright.

With his brother, Banks discussed school safety during a January meeting in the chancellor’s office at school headquarters and “physical education” during an April 21 meeting at an unknown location. The purpose of a third visit with David Banks at school headquarters on May 31 is not listed. 

But no city agency has been subject to as much of Banks’ micromanaging as his former employer, the NYPD. His intervention complicates big promises Adams, also a former NYPD officer, made about police leadership under his administration. Adams promised he would appoint the first-ever woman to run the 35,000-member force, and followed through by appointing Sewell, who had been the chief of detectives for Nassau County on Long Island for little more than a year.

The daily schedule shows Banks meeting with Sewell at least 18 times since he joined Team Adams, including 12 one-on-one meetings. Most of these took place on Sundays at a location that City Hall blacked out before releasing the documents to THE CITY.  Banks reportedly helped select her for the commissioner job, even before he formally joined the Adams administration.

Adams gets his police woman

 NY Daily News

Mayor-elect Eric Adams has selected a Long Island police chief to become the first female commissioner of the NYPD — opting for a backyard pick after an extensive national search for his first top cop, four sources told the Daily News late Tuesday.

Keechant Sewell, the chief of detectives for the Nassau County Police Department, was picked for the top NYPD post after doing a “fantastic” job in interviews with Adams and his team, said a police source familiar with the matter.

“She was out of this world good. They couldn’t believe how well she interviewed,” the source said.

Adams, who will formally name Sewell as his commissioner at a Queens press conference Wednesday morning, heaped praise on the 49-year-old Long Island cop, who’ll become the first female commissioner in the department’s 176-year history when she takes over early next year.

“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 said in a statement. “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.”

The selection of Sewell, a Queens native who lives on Long Island, came after Adams and his team conducted a months-long search for the next commissioner.