Keechant Sewell, commissioner of the New York Police Department, said Monday she would resign. She did not give a reason for her departure.
“While my time here will come to a close, I will never step away from my advocacy and support for the N.Y.P.D., and I will always be a champion for the people of New York City,” she said in an email to the department provided by two officers.
Ms. Sewell, who was appointed to her position by Mayor Eric Adams and started in 2022, was the first woman to head the nation’s largest police force.
“Her efforts played a leading role in this administration’s tireless work to make New York City safer,” the mayor said in a statement. “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.”
As commissioner, Ms. Sewell was an enigmatic figure, hardly straying from her script at news conferences and revealing little of her personality, in contrast to her voluble predecessors. Instead, Philip Banks III, the deputy mayor for public safety, gave weekly briefings on the state of crime and safety in the city.
Ms. Sewell also had to navigate difficult politics within the department. Last month, she set a proposed punishment for one of the department’s top chiefs: She moved to strip Jeffrey Maddrey, the highest-ranking uniformed officer, of 10 vacation days, after accusations that he interfered with the arrest of a retired officer who chased three boys while he was armed.
Chief Maddrey was said have planned to fight the charges in a department trial, setting up a battle over what constitutes unacceptable use of power for the officers he oversees.
In her short tenure, she had made a strong impression on the rank and file. Patrick J. Lynch, president of the Police Benevolent Association union, said she made a real impact in a short time.
“She cared about the cops on the street and was always open to working with us to improve their lives and working conditions,” he said in a statement. “There are still enormous challenges facing the N.Y.P.D. Her leadership will be sorely missed.”
Ms. Sewell had previously been Nassau County’s chief of detectives, working in a department that had about 2,400 uniformed officers, less than a tenth of the size of the New York Police Department’s uniformed contingent.
In 23 years with the Nassau Police Department, Chief Sewell, who grew up in Queens, worked in the narcotics and major cases units, and as a hostage negotiator. She was promoted to chief of detectives in September 2020.
Paul DiGiacomo, president of New York’s Detectives Endowment Association, said many members of the department were upset and stunned by Monday’s unexpected announcement.
“Her love of detectives was genuine and sincere,” he said in a statement. “Commissioner Sewell’s historic appointment will not soon be forgotten.”
Jeffery C. Mays contributed reporting.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
