The New York City Police Department (NYPD),officially the City of New York Police Department,is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23,1845,the NYPD is the largest,and one of the oldest,municipal police departments in the United States.
The New York City Police Commissioner is the head of the New York City Police Department and presiding member of the Board of Commissioners. The commissioner is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the mayor. The commissioner is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the department as well as the appointment of deputies including the Chief of Department and subordinate officers. Commissioners are civilian administrators,and they and their subordinate deputies are civilians under an oath of office,not sworn members of the force. This is a separate position from the Chief of Department,who is the senior sworn uniformed member of the force. The First Deputy Commissioner is the Commissioner and department's second-in-command. The office of the Police Commissioner is located at the NYPD Headquarters,One Police Plaza. Both the commissioner and first deputy commissioner outrank all uniformed officers,including the chief of department.
John Francis Timoney was an American policeman and law enforcement executive. He served as Chief of the Miami Police Department from 2003 to 2010. He was previously Commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department (1998–2002) and held a variety of positions with the New York Police Department (1967–96),including its Chief of Department and First Deputy Commissioner. He worked for the Ministry of the Interior of Bahrain as a police consultant. Timoney drew both international praise and criticism for his handling of mass protests.
The Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York (PBA) is the largest police union representing police officers of the New York City Police Department. It represents about 24,000 of the department's 36,000 officers.
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is structured into numerous bureaus and units. As a whole,the NYPD is headed by the Police Commissioner,a civilian administrator appointed by the Mayor,with the senior sworn uniformed officer of the service titled "Chief of Department". The Police Commissioner appoints the First Deputy Commissioner as the department's second-in-command and the Chief of Department as the department's highest ranking uniformed officer. The commissioner also appoints a number of deputy and assistant commissioners who do not have operational command and are solely for support and administrative function. The department is divided into twenty bureaus,six of which are enforcement bureaus. Each enforcement bureau is further subdivided into sections,divisions,and units,and into patrol boroughs,precincts,and detective squads. Each bureau is commanded by a bureau chief. There are also a number of specialized units that are not part of any of the bureaus and report to the Chief of the Department.
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) originates in the Government of New York City attempts to control rising crime in early- to mid-19th-century New York City. The City's reforms created a full-time professional police force modeled upon London's Metropolitan Police,itself only formed in 1829. Established in 1845,the Municipal Police replaced the inadequate night watch system which had been in place since the 17th century,when the city was founded by the Dutch as New Amsterdam.
Throughout the history of the New York City Police Department,numerous instances of corruption,misconduct,and other allegations of such,have occurred. Over 12,000 cases have resulted in lawsuit settlements totaling over $400 million during a five-year period ending in 2014. In 2019,taxpayers funded $68,688,423 as the cost of misconduct lawsuits,a 76 percent increase over the previous year,including about $10 million paid out to two exonerated individuals who had been falsely convicted and imprisoned.
Joseph J. Esposito was an American police officer,Deputy Commissioner of Enforcement for the New York City Department of Buildings,Commissioner of New York City Emergency Management from 2014 to 2018,and Chief of the New York City Police Department from 2000 to 2013.
The United States police-rank model is generally quasi-military in structure. A uniform system of insignia based on that of the US Army and Marine Corps is used to help identify an officer's seniority.
Rafael Piñeiro is the former First Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and at that time the highest ranking Hispanic American member of the NYPD. In November 2013,he was rumored to be on Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio's short list to replace Ray Kelly as NYPD Commissioner.
James Patrick "Jimmy" O'Neill Jr. is an American police officer who served as the 43rd Police Commissioner of New York City from September 2016 until November 2019. Prior to his appointment as Police Commissioner,O'Neill served as NYPD's Chief of Department,the highest uniformed position in the department,in 2014–2016.
Benjamin B. Tucker is an American police officer and administrator who was appointed First Deputy New York City Police Commissioner on Nov. 5,2014,in a ceremony at 1 Police Plaza in New York City. Commissioner Tucker is the NYPD's 43rd first deputy commissioner. "This is an amazing moment and time in my life," Tucker said. "I joined the NYPD family on November 21,1969,as an 18-year-old." He was sworn in as a police officer trainee at that time,and is now second in command of the nation's largest police force with a uniformed strength just shy of 35,000,plus several thousand in support staff. He later retired from the New York Police Department in December 2021.
Carlos M. Gomez is a former Chief of Department of the New York City Police Department. A native of Cuba who emigrated to the United States as a young boy with his father,Gomez grew up in the New York City borough of Queens. He was designated Chief of Department of the NYPD on September 16,2016. The Chief of Department is the highest uniformed position,and Gomez was the 39th person to hold this post becoming the highest ranking Hispanic officer in the department.
The New York Police Department's Strategic Response Group (SRG) is a unit of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) formed in 2015 for counter-terrorism and the policing of political protests. They maintain a bike squadron and are outfitted with anti-riot gear,rifles,and body armor. The unit has been criticized for its use of excessive force and mass arrests against political demonstrators protected under the First Amendment,disproportionately high numbers of complaints to the Civilian Complaint Review Board,and the killing of unarmed men,among other things. Activists,the New York City Council,the New York City Department of Investigation,and organizations such as Human Rights Watch and the New York Civil Liberties Union,among others,have called for its regulation or disbandment.
Rodney K. Harrison is an American police officer and administrator who recently served as the Police Commissioner of the Suffolk County Police Department. He previously served in the New York City Police Department where he achieved every rank from police officer to the highest uniform rank,Chief of department.
The Sergeants Benevolent Association(SBA) is an American police union that represents the sergeants of the New York City Police Department (NYPD),while the department's nonsupervisory patrol officers are represented by the larger Police Benevolent Association. The SBA is characterized by the Associated Press as a partisan organization,and is known for perpetually criticizing the Mayor of New York City (especially recent mayor Bill de Blasio),unfavored police commissioners,and other politicians through an inflammatory Twitter account,press releases and other media statements.
George Floyd protests in New York City took place at several sites in each of the five New York City boroughs,starting on May 28,2020,in reaction to the murder of George Floyd. Most of the protests were peaceful,while some sites experienced protester and/or police violence,including several high-profile incidents of excessive force. Looting became a parallel issue,especially in Manhattan. As a result,and amid the COVID-19 pandemic,the city was placed under curfew from June 1–7,the first curfew in the city since 1943. The protests catalyzed efforts at police reform,leading to the criminalization of chokeholds during arrests,the repeal of 50-a,and other legislation. Several murals and memorials were created around the city in George Floyd's honor,and demonstrations against racial violence and police brutality continued as part of the larger Black Lives Matter movement in New York City.
Juanita N. Holmes is an American police officer and administrator who is the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Probation. Prior to that role,Holmes was the Chief of the Training Bureau in the NYPD. Before the appointment of Keechant Sewell as New York City Police Commissioner on January 1,2022,Holmes was the highest-ranking female in the NYPD.
Keechant L. Sewell is an American former police officer and administrator who served as the 45th New York City Police Commissioner,the first woman and third black person to serve in the position. On June 12,2023,Sewell announced that she was stepping down as commissioner. No reason was given for her departure. On November 2,2023,the New York Mets announced that Sewell would become their senior Vice President of security and guest experience.
Edward A. Caban is an American police officer and New York City Police Commissioner appointed in 2023 by Mayor Eric Adams. Caban previously served as First Deputy Police Commissioner under Keechant Sewell.
