The commissioner of the New York Police Department announced his retirement Monday after leading the department for slightly over three years.
Commissioner James O’Neill said he plans to leave for a job in the private sector in December, describing the scheduling of his departure as “the right time for me.” Mayor Bill de Blasio named Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea as O’Neill’s replacement at a press conference.
{mosads}“This job comes with a lot. It comes with a lot of pressure,” O’Neill said during the conference. “This is all I have thought about for the last 38 months — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s all you think about, is keeping the people of this city safe, and it was an honor to serve.”
During his tenure, starting in September 2016, O’Neill adjusted the department’s focus away from “broken windows” policies, in which low-level crimes are prioritized because they are expected to lead to higher crimes, to community policing, The Associated Press reported.
On his first day, a pipe bomb exploded in Manhattan, injuring 29 people.
O’Neill made the controversial decision earlier this year to fire Office Daniel Pantaleo over the chokehold death of Eric Garner, a decision that the Police Benevolent Association condemned. The union’s no-confidence vote following Pantaleo’s firing called for the commissioner to resign, according to the AP.
O’Neill said the decision to fire the officer weighed heavy on him, but it did not influence his retirement, the news wire reported.
Shea, O’Neill’s replacement, said “there’s so much more to do” when it comes to advancing the police department’s relationship with the community.
“We really have a solid foundation for neighborhood policing in this city,” Shea said during the conference. “We’re connecting to communities I think like never before, but that work is ongoing, and it’s gotta be broadened and deepened.”