New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams will appoint Keechant Sewell, the chief of detectives for the Nassau County police, to serve as the 45th New York police commissioner, according to the New York Post.
Sewell will oversee the nation’s largest police force as the city’s first female police commissioner.
Jovanni Ortiz, chair of the Nassau County Police Community Oversight Task Force, expressed confidence in Sewell.
“It is a historic day for New York City residents and for the thousands of officers who make up our nation’s largest police department,” Ortiz said in a statement. “I was pleasantly surprised to learn of Mayor-elect Adams’ selection of Chief Sewell to serve as New York City’s next police commissioner. I have no doubt that her 25 years of experience as a female police officer of color, who has served in various leadership roles, will be an asset to the department and to the people of New York City. She will surely be missed in Nassau County, but we wish her all the best as she begins this new journey.”
Sewell, 49, is a Queens native who was promoted to her current position in September 2020. She will become the third black commissioner in the city’s history.
Adams told the Post 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.”
Sewell will succeed Dermot Shea, who is retiring from the NYPD after three decades.
The newly appointed commissioner will assume her role on Jan. 1, when Adams takes office.
