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Inside the Turmoil That Led N.Y.P.D.’s

Commissioner to Walk Away
Keechant Sewell walked into Mayor Eric Adams’s office
unannounced on Monday and told him she would be leaving. No
one but her closest aides saw it coming.

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Keechant Sewell, the New York City police commissioner, said this week that she
would resign. Anna Watts for The New York Times

By Chelsia Rose Marcius , Maria Cramer and William K. Rashbaum

June 13, 2023

On Monday afternoon, Keechant Sewell, the commissioner of the

New York Police Department, walked into Mayor Eric Adams’s
office unannounced, according to a mayoral adviser.

The two met alone and spoke for about 15 minutes. Then, about a
half an hour later, at around 4:30 p.m., she sent a departmentwide
email that rocked City Hall and stunned the 34,000 officers who
received it. In it, Ms. Sewell said she would step down .

Ms. Sewell, 51, a guarded official known for a detached

professionalism, had given few signs that she was unhappy. In the
weeks before her announcement — and the day after — she made
the kind of public appearances expected of a commissioner:
ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange , walking in the
Puerto Rican Day Parade and speaking at promotion and memorial
ceremonies.

On Tuesday morning, the police commissioner for less than 18

months spoke to high school students being honored by the Police
Athletic League, including one who had been awarded the title
“Police Commissioner for a Day.” She told them that law
enforcement was a fulfilling career: “The N.Y.P.D. and our city
need more young people who are problem solvers.”

Ms. Sewell kept to her routine of ceremonies and meetings as an internal struggle
raged behind the scenes. Anna Watts for The New York Times

However, Ms. Sewell said nothing about her own frustrations. Only
a few of her closest aides had known she would be announcing her
resignation, according to people with knowledge of the
commissioner’s plans.

Over the past year, rumors had swirled that other appointees in the Editors’ Picks
department were undermining her authority, specifically Philip
Banks III, the deputy mayor of public safety, and Timothy Pearson, How a Toilet
Plunger Improved
a senior adviser to Mr. Adams, according to several police and City CPR
Hall officials. And in recent days, her relationship with Mr. Adams
appeared to reach a breaking point , according to a high-ranking Meet the First
Woman to Sail the
City Hall official. ‘Voyage for
Madmen’
Ms. Sewell declined to comment, according to a department
After an Epic
spokesman. Deputy Mayor Banks said in a text that any Meltdown, Ample
Hills Creamery
suggestion of meddling was “untruthful gossip” and to call him for Aims to Rise Again
comment “when you get a quote from Commissioner Sewell.”

Last month, Ms. Sewell had moved to strip Jeffrey Maddrey , the
highest-ranking uniformed officer and a close associate of Mr.
Adams, of 10 vacation days, after he interfered with the arrest of a
retired officer who chased three boys while he was armed.

Around the same time, she was told she could not make
discretionary promotions even at the lower levels of the
department without getting clearance from the Adams
administration, said Kenneth Corey, the former chief of the
department, who worked under Ms. Sewell until he retired in
November.

A Police Department at a Critical Moment

The New York Police Department is facing challenges on several fronts.

N.Y.P.D. Commissioner: Keechant Sewell, who was appointed by Mayor

Eric Adams in 2022, said that she would resign from her role as
commissioner , giving no reason for her abrupt departure.
Stop-and-Frisk Tactics : The mayor revived the N.Y.P.D.’s anti-crime units,
promising they would be well trained and supervised. A new report found
they are still stopping and searching too many people unlawfully .

Punishment for a Top Chief: Sewell decided that Jeffrey Maddrey, the
highest-ranking uniformed officer, should be punished after accusations
that he interfered with the arrest of a retired officer who chased three boys
while armed.
A High-Tech Force: Adams unveiled an array of devices , including robotic
dogs, that he said the Police Department would use to ensure New
Yorkers’ safety.

“She was gradually being stripped of power,” he said. “Now they

had taken the power to make the most basic of decisions.”

That kind of meddling did not happen in prior administrations, said

Mr. Corey, who praised Ms. Sewell as an “incredibly intelligent”
commissioner who acted with “honor and integrity.”

Mr. Corey, who said he had been briefed by highly placed officials
about the recent inner workings of the department, said that Ms.
Sewell’s pending departure had “devastated” and angered many
officers.

“They wonder what’s next,” he said.

Ms. Sewell has not provided a reason for her decision to leave the
job, which paid about $243,000 a year. On Tuesday afternoon, her
office released a statement in which she thanked Mr. Adams, whom
she had not mentioned in the internal email announcing her
resignation, for the opportunity to lead the department.

“The time I have spent in our communities — meeting everyday

New Yorkers — has been among the most rewarding experiences
of my tenure,” she wrote.

Mr. Adams on Tuesday began an unrelated news conference by

saying that Ms. Sewell was “probably my proudest appointment,”
but acknowledged that he was a deeply involved manager.

Ms. Sewell and Mr. Adams were both expected to attend a

celebration Tuesday evening hosted by the Gay Officers Action
League at Police Department headquarters, an event both had
agreed to attend well before her resignation was announced. Mr.
Adams canceled at 6 p.m.

Mayor Eric Adams praised Ms. Sewell, but also said he was a deeply involved
manager. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Little is known about the conversation on Monday between the

mayor and Ms. Sewell, or what exactly led her to resign.

Patrick Ryder, commissioner of the Nassau County Police

Department, where Ms. Sewell was formerly chief of detectives,
said he talked by phone with her late Monday afternoon, after
news broke of her resignation.

“She’s a pure professional. She won’t say a bad word about

anyone,” he said. “She just said, ‘It was time to move on.’”

In the days leading up to Ms. Sewell’s resignation, she spoke at the

annual Police Foundation gala at the Intrepid Museum, and
attended Saturday Night Lights, anti-violence community-based
events held throughout the city.

On Sunday, about 30 hours before she made her announcement,

Ms. Sewell marched down Fifth Avenue in the Puerto Rican Day
Parade.

Ms. Sewell did not speak publicly about her discontent in the days before her abrupt
resignation. Kena Betancur/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Mr. Corey said he saw Ms. Sewell at 8 a.m. Monday during a

charity golf event in the Bronx, hours before she announced her
resignation.

There was no indication of what was to come, he said. But she did
ask whether he had seen a New York Post story that ran on Sunday
quoting anonymous sources who described her “losing power” to
City Hall.

Mr. Corey had, and told her, “If that’s true it’s terrible.”

She simply replied that they would talk later. Hours later, he saw
the news that she had resigned.

He was startled but not entirely surprised.

“She is anything but a figurehead,” said Mr. Corey. “She’s either

going to do the job that she was hired to do or she’s not,” he added.

Just after 10 a.m. Tuesday at One Police Plaza, the department’s

headquarters in Lower Manhattan, Ms. Sewell received a standing
ovation at the Police Athletic League ceremony.

About 200 people, including Chief Maddrey, clapped for Ms. Sewell
for about two minutes before Ms. Sewell, who was smiling,
motioned for everyone to take their seats.

Ms. Sewell then gave a four-minute speech, encouraging the

students to consider making law enforcement their life.

“We are calling on you to stay involved with the Police

Department,” she said, adding that the department needed young
people who think “carefully and creatively.”

“I look forward to the day after you finish high school or college
that you may consider a career with the N.Y.P.D.”

Soon after, she was ushered off the stage.

Chelsia Rose Marcius covers breaking news and criminal justice for the Metro desk, with
a focus on the New York City Police Department.

Maria Cramer is a reporter on the Metro desk. Please send her tips, questions and
complaints about the New York police and crime at maria.cramer@nytimes.com .
@ NYTimesCramer
William K. Rashbaum is a senior writer on the Metro desk, where he covers political and
municipal corruption, courts, terrorism and law enforcement. He was a part of the team
awarded the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News. @ WRashbaum Facebook •

A version of this article appears in print on June 14, 2023 , Section A , Page 18 of the New York edition with the
headline: N.Y.P.D. Commissioner Kept Her Plans Quiet as She Prepared to Depart . Order Reprints | Today’s Paper |

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