The New York Police Department made history on Dec, 15, as mayor-elect Eric Adams announced that he appointed Nassau City chief of detectives Keechant Sewell to become the N.Y.P.D. Commissioner.
This move makes Sewell the first woman to take the spot, and the third black commissioner in the department’s history.
I ran for Mayor on a promise: I will never ask NYers to decide between the safety we need & the justice we deserve.
I'm incredibly proud that Chief Keechant Sewell, a Queens native, will be working with me every day to deliver on that promise as the next @NYPDnews Commissioner. pic.twitter.com/zzuMN864yA
— Eric Adams (@ericadamsfornyc) December 15, 2021
Adams was selected from a pool of candidates in the NYPD and across the country, with the intent of finding a capable candidate who could take the lead of balancing public safety in a city where crime rates have increased during the pandemic.
NYPD statistics show an overall crime increase of 21.3 percent in November 2021.
“I’m here to meet the moment,” Sewell said to the New York Post. “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.”
Sewell did not go into detail about her plans would be going forward as far as public safety issues and addressing crimes around the city.
“I want to actually take a look at what’s working in the city and what’s not working,” she said. “I’ve been policing for 25 years, so I’ve actually got some sort of a grasp on what I think works and doesn’t work.”
