NYPD Chief of Detectives leaves a lasting impression
BY KYLE VUILLE
Middle and high school students
in the Bronx Youth Empowerment
Program had the
chance to meet with the fi rst
African American Chief of Detectives
for the NYPD, Rodney
Harrison, at Evander Childs
Educational Campus on East
Gun Hill Road.
“Growing up, I lost a lot of
friends to gun violence,” Harrison
told the packed classroom.
“Cops were disrespectful
to me and a cop is the last
thing I ever wanted to be.”
Harrison grew up in Jamaica,
Queens, but attended
Benjamin Cardozo High
School in Bayside where his
peers were mostly white.
Harrison told the class that
he changed his feelings towards
law enforcement while
attending a kids vs. cops basketball
game that was a part of
the NYPD cadet program.
This was the fi rst time Harrison
experienced police helping
and making connections
with the people in the community.
Harrison went on to attend
Springfi eld College in Massachusetts
to play basketball and
received a degree in physical
education with the aspirations
of becoming an athletic director.
After serious consideration,
Harrison took the leap
into police cadet program after
transferring to York College
in 1991 with the foreverlooming
question that is on
his mind till this day, ‘How
can I give back?’
With 27 years on the force,
Harrison stressed to the children,
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“Not all cops are bad.”
“We’re in the business of
helping people,” Harrison said.
Harrison briefl y spoke
about his two-year stint with
the 47th Precinct as second in
command for the precinct.
“It was everything from
domestic violence cases to
traffi c issues,” Harrison said.
“I oversaw everything in the
precinct.”
According to Harrison, his
success in law enforcement
and ranking up through the
years was largely due to his
highly competitive native.
“I’ve always been a very
competitive person against
my peers,” Harrison said.
“Whether it’s been in sports
or at work.”
When the Q&A was turned
over to the students, the YEP
kid’s hands went fl ying in the
air, left and right.
Harrison understands how
signifi cant it is to reach out
to younger children to create
lasting relationships with local
law enforcement to better
community ties.
“Kids are impressible and
it’s important to mold them
to having these positive views
with police,” Harrison said.
“Sometimes they are geared
in the wrong direction and
that’s why I talk to them about
my own trials and tribulations
growing up.”
Harrison still lives by his
‘How can I help?’ mantra since
becoming Chief of Detectives.
Even with the highly regarded
position and being the African
American to hold the position
in the 200 years of NYPD’s existence,
he choses to focus on
why he joined law enforcement
in the fi rst place.
“It really hasn’t registered
for me yet,” Harrison said. “I
just want to sustain the work
of my predecessors, support
all the investigators, and provide
them with the proper resources
for their needs to keep
the city as safe as possible.”
NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison speaks to the students in the Bronx Youth Empowerment Program at
Evander Childs Educational Campus on Gun Hill Road on Thursday, February 27. Harrison was joined by Councilman
Andy King to talk to the children about positive relations with local police. Photo by Kyle Vuille/Schneps Media
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