Keechant Sewell becomes the first woman in history to head the New York Police Department on New Year’s Eve – and in doing so, takes on a difficult task.
New York – Your job is considered to be one of the most difficult and responsible jobs in the 8.4 million metropolis of New York City, its occupation with a black woman as an absolute sensation: Keechant Sewell has been since Saturday night (01/01/2022) Head of around 36,000 officers at the New York Police Department, the largest police department in the United States.
The Queens-born policewoman last worked as a chief investigator in the Nassau borough east of New York City. She had worked there for 23 years, according to the New York Times. Accordingly, she worked in the anti-drug department and in a unit for particularly serious criminal cases and was a negotiator in hostage-taking. As Spiegel reports, Sewell previously studied at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, in a year in which barely 10 percent of prospective police officers were female.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams nominated Keechant Sewell as chief of police
Sewell was nominated by New York City Mayor Eric Adams (Democrats), who was also newly elected, who won the New York mayoral election in early November and announced the appointment of Sewell as New York City Police Commissioner in December. The ex-cop is the second African American mayor in New York history, after David Dinkins, who held the post between 1990 and 1993.
“Keechant Sewell is a seasoned crime fighter with the experience and emotional intelligence to give New Yorkers the security they need and the justice they deserve,” said Adams after the New York Post announced “. PBA Police Union Chairman Patrick Lynch commented that Sewell’s new post will be “the second toughest police job in the US” – “the toughest is, of course, being an NYPD cop on the street.”
New NYPD boss Sewell: Combating violent crime is top priority
According to the Spiegel, Sewell prevailed against numerous female applicants at a simulated press conference in the application process, which involved the fictitious case of a white police officer who shot an unarmed black man. While other applicants would have limited themselves to purely professional and “technical” details, Sewell would also have had the human component of the fictitious case in their handling of the press conference.
In her new role she wants to focus on fighting violent crime, Sewell told the New York Post. This is her “top priority”. Sewell is also faced with the challenge of restoring confidence in the New York Police Department, which has been faced with allegations of tolerating violent, racist and corrupt officials in their ranks. (ska with dpa)
