Kechant, 49, is the new NYPD Commissioner. She will take office on January 1, 2022. Morning Joe shows her on Thursday morning, telling Morning Joe about how she has lost her voice. She hopes to get some sleep.
New York City’s first woman police commissioner will be Keechant Sewell next year. This is a Long Island police chief who was previously unknown and now leads the nation’s largest police force.
Sewell, who is 49 years old, lives in Valley Stream on Long Island alone. She has a two-bedroom and two-bathroom house in a quiet neighborhood. Her responsibility includes 350 police officers in Nassau County.
She’ll now be responsible for attracting 100 times more people to help clean up New York City’s criminal problem.
Sewell has not been married, and she does not have children. She was raised by a Marine dad.
She prefers the Mets to the Yankees and the Knicks to the Nets. Her favorite song is Liquid Spirit, by Gregory Porter.
Sewell met John Wesley Pierce, a former NYPD officer whom she called “Pop Pop” during her career.
Her father taught her honor and service together.
She said that Pierce died in 2017 after a long and difficult retirement.
Sewell is yet to make clear her position on the main issues. Neither she nor Mayor Bloomberg have yet made public statements about their feelings regarding cash bail reforms and vaccine mandates for cops.
“My dad was a Marine and my popp was an officer in New York City.”
‘They taught me service, commitment… everything they did… even though for them this may not have been a conventional choice for me growing up,’ she told New York City’s Pix 11 on Thursday morning.
Sewell states that the idea of taking on an army 100 times larger than her current one is not frightening.
The first step is to end the violence within the city. Sewell spoke out on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “We will be laser-focused upon that.”
‘I think when we talk about the officers that we’re going to ask to step up and do their jobs – we’re going to support them. The community will be needed to help us. And we certainly want to go to the community for their ideas to be able to support those officers … to get a handle on the violence.’
She said, “We can’t accomplish anything without the community,”
Sewell in her Chief of Detectives position at the Nassau County Police Department. This is a 350-strong force.
“I am absolutely ready to take on this challenge. I have known policing for half of my life – the tenants of policing are the same in urban areas and suburban counties. “We all desire safety,” she stated.
As determined as she might be, just one day of interviews with the media was enough for her to lose her voice Thursday morning.
Morning Joe was host to Sewell, a comedian who had to apologize after she lost her voice during a day full of events.
Nobody has much to say, good or bad, about her. Her public profile has been very low.
Joe Scarborough, the host of the interview told Scarborough: “Good luck with the voice.”
Her reply was: “Thanks. Perhaps next week. Also, some sleep. Maybe I’ll get some sleep next week.’
Scarborough replied, “You won’t get that much for the next 4 years.”
You won’t find her among the other cops. Her low profile has meant that she has remained largely unrelated to politics throughout most of her professional career.
She is a quiet person. She’s kept her profile low, I believe. Betsy Brantner Smith was the spokesperson for National Police Association.
At the moment, Sewell is being accepted by NYPD’s biggest unions.
Chief Sewell is now the most difficult policing position in America. The most difficult, however, is to be an NYPD officer on the streets,” said Patrick Lynch (President of the Sergeants Benevolent Association), in an interview with The New York Times.
In November, Keechant Sewell was named the Nassau County Law Enforcement Employee of the Year.
Keechant, the daughter of US Marine Carl Sewell was born in Queens. She grew up there and lived as a baby in a housing project.
Career-focused, she was never married nor had children. She rose quickly up the ranks from 1997 when she joined the Fifth Precinct to be a patrol officer.
Sewell’s father Carl, a US Marine, died in 2005. Sewell was also a surrogate grandfather to Freddie, he was a NYPD cop.
Later, she trained at FBI’s National Academy elite in 2008. There she met Valerie TanguayMasner (then-San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office member).
According to the New York Times, Keechant described herself as “very athletic, very energy, and very focused on her goals.” Her integrity is unquestioned. She was an shining star.
According to the Times, a retired FBI agent that counseled Sewell at academy said: “There wasn’t a chink in his armor.”
By September 2020, she made the record books by being named the first black woman to become Nassau County’s chief of detectives.
She stated, “I believe there’s nothing we can do.” News 12Last year. “There is no ceiling you can’t break and no door that can’t be kept open.”
Over the past 20 years, she’s been in various police roles, such as school resource officer and hostage negotiator.
Most recently, Sewell was the leader of the Nassau County Police Department, the most secure county in America according to US News.
Described as ‘an unstoppable force of nature’ with ‘unimpeachable integrity’, Sewell said she believes she’ll bring fresh perspective to the force in the $200,000-a-year role.
She stated, “I bring fresh eyes,” “We continue to use the term “emotional intelligence”, but often the first thing that people will say about women is their sensitive side.
“I believe that sensitivity is an asset, and that it adds to emotional intelligence. If I have that, then I am ready to take on the world.
A veteran police officer will supervise a force of 35,000 members that is struggling with the fallout from bail reform and anti-police segregations.
In October, Sewell was named Nassau County’s law enforcer of the year, said Nassau County Detective’s Union president John Wighaus.
He told The Times that ‘She is a leader and has great respect for our men and women,’ he said.
Nassau County is the safest county in America, according to a US News report released in June. They also hold the 2020 title.
The property crime rate in the county, which has a population over 1.4 million residents, was 1,067.4 compared to the 1,673.9 national average.
The violent crime rate was 13.6 per 100,000 residents, while the national average was 204.6.
Eric Adams, NYC Mayor Elect, introduced Sewell yesterday to the general public
It might sound daunting to relocate from America’s most secure county to New York City. Adams however said that Sewell was up for the challenge.
Adams released a statement in video. Adams explained that Adams brings not only a broad range of experience, but also the emotional intelligence necessary to guide at this time when it is both challenging and hopeful for our city. “I’m sure you’ll be just as thrilled as I about her joining our ranks.
Sewell joined the department in a period when murders, assaults on felony and grand larcenies have been increasing.
There were 10 killings during the week that ended December 12. This is a 43% increase year-over-year. After 29 victims were raped, rapes increased by 38 percent.
In the overall, crime in the city is on an upward trend year-over–year. Murders have increased by 2.3%, while rape has increased by 2.21%.
This year already, 454 New Yorkers have been killed and 1,413 have been raped. A further 12,994 New Yorkers were robbed, and another 19,809 were victims of felony attack.
Dermot Shea (NYPD Commissioner), will be leaving at the end the month. He blames the Democratic-dominated state Legislature’s bail reform laws for the rise in violent crime.
The New York Police Department was never, in its 176 year history, appointed as its leader.
On his campaign trail, the new mayor declared that he intended to appoint women to this highly-coveted position. The team searched across the nation for the ideal candidate.
A number of police chiefs were shortlisted, including one from Newark and another from Seattle.
Adams claimed that Sewell was special to him.
‘As mayor, I chose someone who I know is going to bring our city back and create an environment where we’re going to raise healthy children and families,’ Adams said during today’s press conference. Adams said that she was an extraordinary law enforcement officer who always had a sledgehammer and broke every glass ceiling in her path throughout her career.
“Today, she crashed and destroyed our last one in New York City.”
While Sewell was widely celebrated for his historic appointment Wednesday, one criminal expert stated that the men-dominated police force might not welcome him as warmly.
Maria Haberfeld (law department chair, John Jay College of Criminal Justice), said Sewell may face subordination from fellow underlings who don’t like working with a ‘outsider,’ who is a female.
Haberfeld said that the organization is still dominated by men and that there will likely be some pullback. There will also be some doubt and maybe even a little disrespect.
“This will be an inner challenge.”
She said that Sewell is likely to face unreasonable expectations from the public, as she heads a demoralized police force.
Haberfeld claimed that “immediately, people will require changes overnight, which was extremely unrealistic.”
“If the bail reform doesn’t get changed, there won’t be any change any time soon.”
Haberfeld, however, said that she doesn’t worry about whether the commissioner will be able to patrol major metro areas.
She stated that police work was the same regardless of whether it’s in a large city or small town. Crimes happen anywhere. That is where the challenge lies. The numbers will be secondary if your leader is a great one. If you are content wise, it is not a crime.
Her appointment will make her the third black officer commissioner in the city, following Benjamin Ward’s tenure from 1984 to 1989 as Mayor Ed Koch. Lee Brown was Mayor David Dinkins’ last term from 1990 to 1992.
Shea will assume the office of Mayor Bill de Blasio on January 1. This is amid rising violence and low morale in police after many years.
Sewell said, “I’m here for the moment,” and that it was an honor to have been considered. It’s an amazing opportunity.
“And it is something I consider very serious, because of its historic nature.”
Adams made the decision not to appoint Sewell in the top-cop post because it was the right choice, according to sources. Adams has been vowing for months that she would appoint an African American woman to this position.
She was required to participate in a fake news conference during her interview. Other cops said she did well and was calm.