The future mayor of New York, Eric Adams, announced this Wednesday (15) that he will name a woman, Keechant Sewell, for the first time as chief of police of the largest city in the United States.
“Keechant Sewell is a talented crime fighter with the experience and emotional intelligence to deliver both the security New Yorkers need and the justice they deserve,” Democrat Adams said in a statement sent to the nation’s media. .
Adams, who is himself a former New York police captain, introduced Sewell, 49, at a news conference Wednesday. Security was one of the main themes of the mayor’s electoral campaign.
Sewell is currently head of investigations for Nassau County, east of the city. First woman to head the New York Police Department (NYPD), she will be the third black person in office, during the term of the second black mayor in the city’s history. Both will take office on January 1st.
At the head of about 35,000 agents, she will have the difficult task of keeping New York safe, as the coronavirus pandemic was accompanied by an increase in crime in 2020. She will also have to restore public confidence in the police, accused of having in its ranks violent, racist and corrupt agents.
The current head of the post, Dermot Shea, was appointed in 2019 by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The president of New York’s largest police union, Patrick Lynch, welcomed Sewell and said she will take over the second toughest police post in the United States. “The hardest part, of course, is being an NYPD cop on the streets,” he added.
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