WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES DECEMBER 2, 2021 3
NYPD chief of department set to retire at end of December
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@ROBBPOZ
The NYPD’s highest-ranking
uniformed officer, Chief of
Department Rodney Harrison,
will be retiring at the end of December
aft er a distinguished 30-year career,
the agency said in a Thanksgiving
morning announcement.
Harrison’s departure, slated for
Dec. 30, comes at a time of anticipated
changes in leadership at the NYPD,
with Mayor-elect Eric Adams expected
to soon name a new police
commissioner.
The current commissioner, Dermot
Shea, didn’t name a successor for Harrison,
the only NYPD member ever to
rise from cadet to the top of the department’s
chain of command. Harrison
had only become Chief of Department
in February 2021, following the retirement
of his immediate predecessor,
Terence Monahan.
“Rodney has been not only a trusted
adviser and friend, but exactly the
kind of innovative leader our city and
our department has needed in these
challenging times,” Shea said. “He has
performed in every rank — from patrol
offi cer, to undercover offi cer displaying
tremendous valor, to Chief of
Department — with knowledge, skill,
integrity and a great passion for our
continuing mission to always protect
life and property and to build lasting
relationships with those we serve. We
will miss him, but we wish him well.”
Harrison, who grew up in Rochdale
Village, Queens, became an NYPD offi
cer in June 1991, at the urging of his
father. At fi rst, he was assigned to the
114th Precinct based in Astoria, Queens,
but was later re-assigned to the NYPD
Narcotics Division, working to combat
violent drug dealers along the way.
He earned the Departmental Combat
Cross in the mid-1990s aft er being
shot by a drug dealer while working
undercover as part of an investigation.
Harrison later was promoted
to detective, and worked in various
Brooklyn commands.
Harrison gained a leadership position
aft er being assigned as executive
offi cer to the Bronx’s 47th Precinct; he
later served as commanding offi cers of
the 28th and 32nd precincts in Manhattan.
Aft er being promoted to deputy
chief, Harrison worked in the Internal
Aff airs Bureau, followed by holding
posts in Staten Island and Brooklyn.
In 2018, Harrison became Chief of
Patrol, where Shea said he became an
infl uential fi gure in helping 20,000 offi -
cers adapt to the NYPD’s Neighborhood
Policing Strategy. The following year,
Shea appointed Harrison as Chief of
Detectives, making him the fi rst Black
member of the NYPD to hold that title.
Looking back on his career, Harrison
said he is “extremely proud” of his
service to the city, and is honored that
two of his daughters, Amber and Tyra,
are continuing the family tradition
within the NYPD, as they currently
serve as patrol offi cers.
“It’s been an honor to be a part of
this great police department, to carry
out our intelligence-driven policing
strategies, to help develop several lasting
reforms, and to build meaningful
dialogue with our city’s young people,”
Harrison said. “And I am privileged
that two of my children will carry on
this important work.”
Chief of Department Rodney Harrison Photo by Dean Moses
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