Mayor names Sunnyside native Dermot
Shea as city’s next police commissioner
NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea was named the city’s next Police Commissioner after James O’Neill announced his resignation. Photo by Mark Hallum
BY BILL PARRY
Calling it “an American
Dream story if there ever was
one,” Mayor Bill de Blasio announced
that 28-year veteran
Dermot Shea will be the next
Commissioner of the NYPD
starting on Dec. 1 after James
O’Neill announced he would
step down after three years to
take a job in the private sector.
Born and raised in a onebedroom
apartment in Sunnyside
with Irish immigrant
parents and four siblings, Shea
began his service as a police
officer in 1991 — a year when
New York City faced more
than 2,000 murders — and rose
through the ranks to become
Chief of Detectives.
“This is a tremendous
honor and a tremendous responsibility
and I’m grateful to
the mayor for this privilege to
serve,” Shea said. “Police Commissioner
O’Neill has been
a mentor and a friend to me,
and I am committed to building
on the incredible success
of Neighborhood Policing and
precision policing, while continuing
my life’s work to eradicate
gangs and guns from our
streets.”
Shea said his upbringing
in Sunnyside helped form the
man he became.
“Those years we were rich
in so many ways, but it had
nothing to do with money,”
Shea said. “That’s where I
learned to treat people with
respect.”
In 2014, Shea was appointed
Chief of Crime Control Strategies
and Deputy Commissioner
for Operations where he
oversaw the CompStat system
that honed a new generation
of precision approaches that
helped drive crime down to
record lows.
“Dermot Shea is a proven
change agent, using precision
policing to fight crime and
build trust between police
and communities,” de Blasio
said. “As Chief of Crime Control
Strategies and then Chief
of Detectives, Dermot was one
of the chief architects of the
approach that has made New
York City the safest big city in
America. Dermot is uniquely
qualified to serve as our next
Police Commissioner and
drive down crime rates even
further.”
O’Neill was sworn in following
the retirement of Bill Bratton
in September 2016. The 35-
year veteran was charged with
moving the department away
from open-windows policing
to his Neighborhood Policing
philosophy.
“Over the last three years
I’ve had the opportunity to
work with Commissioner
O’Neill in making the way our
city polices fairer and more equitable,”
said City Councilman
Donovan Richards, the chair
of the Committee on Public
Safety. As a true believer in the
benefits of community policing
and the impact it has on our
neighborhoods, he has served
our city well. Though we still
have a lot of work to do, having
someone like Commissioner
O’Neill made getting closer to
that goal of better police community
relations easier. While
I wish him well in retirement,
I know that he will be missed
by many.”
O’Neill said the pressure
to fire Officer Daniel Pantaleo
in the death of Eric Garner
weighed heavily on his
conscience. As leader of the
nation’s largest police force,
O’Neill was vexed by the rise
of suicide in the ranks, with 10
already this year, seven since
June.
Through it all, O’Neill presided
over the lowest crime
rate in New York City since
the NYPD started tracking
major crime, as well as the
fewest number of homicides recorded
since the 1950s. O’Neill
endorsed Shea, his friend of 25
years, as his successor.
“Dermot Shea has exactly
the experience and skill to
continue to drive down crime,
strengthen relationships with
the community members we
serve and make sure every
neighborhood has the safety
they deserve,” O’Neill said.
“We cannot take the historic
crime reductions in New York
City for granted, and Dermot’s
understanding of the complex
issues that lead to crime and
disorder, as well as the most effective
strategies for addressing
these issues, is as good as it
gets in policing these days.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by
e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4538.
4 TIMESLEDGER, NOV. 8-14, 2019 QNS.COM
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