Nassau County Chief of Detectives Keechant Sewell has been appointed the first ever New York female NYPD Commissioner, overseeing the nation’s police force.
The appointment to the esteemed position was announced by mayor elect Eric Adam who was full of praise for Adams’ 25 years of experience.
Keechant Sewell, 49, chief of detectives of the Nassau County Police Department becomes the first woman and the third black to lead the NYPD in its 175-year history.
“She’s the woman for the job,” Adams declared as he appeared with Sewell at a news conference in her native Queens.
“She carried with her throughout her career a sledgehammer and she crushed every glass ceiling that was put in her way,” Adams said in a statement on Tuesday. “Today, she has crashed and destroyed the final one we need in New York City.”
“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,”
“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.”
Chief Sewell’s appointment was seen as one of the most important decisions for Eric Adams, the incoming mayor, as he begins to fill out his administration.
“We are at a pivotal moment in New York. As our city faces the twin challenges of public safety and police accountability, they are not mutually exclusive,” Sewell said.
Even before he was elected mayor, Eric Adams promised to name a woman of color to lead the largest police force in the country.
She replaces Dermot Shea, who is retiring from the NYPD after 30 years, having spent the last two as commissioner.
“We wanted to get under her skin. We wanted to ask her difficult questions. We wanted to see if she would be shaken. We wanted to see how do you deal with being under the big lights of New York City,” Adams added.
Sewell in reaction stated:
“I stand here today because a man boldly and unapologetically made a decision well before his monumental and successful election, a decision that gave women in policing across this country an opportunity, not a favor, but a chance to work with him.”
Chief Sewell aims to stop violent crimes.
