NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell suddenly resigns, blindsiding City Hall: sources

Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell abruptly announced Monday that she was stepping down after nearly a year and a half as the first woman at the helm of the NYPD — with sources saying her sudden departure caught City Hall off guard.

“I have made the decision to step down from my position,” Sewell wrote in an email to the department Monday afternoon. “While my time here will come to a close, I will never step away from my advocacy and support for the NYPD, and I will always be a champion for the people of New York City.”

Sewell, 51, was sworn in on Jan. 1, 2022, after being appointed by Mayor Eric Adams.

She did not provide a reason for her departure, and it was not immediately clear who would be taking over to lead the largest police force in the country. 

In the absence of a commissioner, the top cop’s first deputy, in this case Edward Caban, would step into the role.

“Since I joined you almost a year and a half ago we have faced tremendous tragedy, challenges and triumphs together,” Sewell wrote in the memo to the NYPD’s approximately 55,000 members.

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“I have witnessed your compassion, heroics and selflessness on a daily basis,” read the email, obtained by The Post.

“They have reaffirmed to me what people around the globe have always known: you are an extraordinary collective of hard-working public servants dedicated to the safety of this city, engaging our communities and sharing what we know with our partners for the benefit of the world,” Sewell wrote. “Please continue to do what you do well to secure this city.”

Sewell’s relationship with City Hall had seemed to sour in recent months, with the commissioner finding herself increasingly handcuffed when trying to make key department decisions, The Post reported Sunday.

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“She was fed up,” a NYPD source said Monday. “She was tired of being their puppet.”

Sources said Adams was blindsided by her sudden resignation.

“The mayor was caught short,” a law enforcement source said. “They did not think she would be leaving today. The earliest they thought it was later in the summer.”

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Said another source, “She was great, someone who genuinely cared about cops, the public and the rule of law. If she was given more authority, she would have done great things for this job.”

NYPD commissioners have historically held the power to promote rank-and-file cops to detective, and detectives to higher ranks — but Sewell had to run the moves past City Hall, law enforcement sources said.

“They tied her up,” one source said. “There’s no executive choices on her behalf. If a cop distinguishes himself and she wants to promote him, she can’t do it.”

Sewell’s authority became more tenuous after she sided with the city Civilian Complaint Review Board’s decision to discipline Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, the department’s highest-ranking uniformed officer.

Maddrey, who was found by the police watchdog panel to have abused his authority in a 2021 gun case, was highly regarded at City Hall, which “wanted him to get a pass,” according to sources.

The decision left Sewell even more vulnerable at One Police Plaza, they said.

“She was probably the fourth-most powerful person in the police department behind [Deputy Mayor Phillip] Banks, Maddrey and [mayoral aide Timothy] Pearson,” one law enforcement source said Monday.

Friends said Sewell began mulling her resignation over Memorial Day weekend, according to sources. 

Adams declined to comment Monday on whether he was shocked by the resignation, pointing The Post to a statement issued by City Hall.

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In the statement, the mayor thanked Sewell for her “steadfast leadership.”

“Her efforts played a leading role in this administration’s tireless work to make New York City safer,” the mayor said.

“The commissioner worked nearly 24 hours a day, seven days a week for a year and a half, and we are all grateful for her service. New Yorkers owe her a debt of gratitude.” 

Adams struck a similar tone at a “community conversation” event in Flushing on Monday night, where he thanked and praised Sewell for her service as commissioner.

“I cannot tell you enough how much I appreciate her service, I appreciate what she has done,” he told the crowd, noting that during Sewell’s tenure, major crime categories, including homicides and shootings, decreased.

Sewell attended an NYPD outing earlier Monday but did not let on about any plans to step down, according to sources. She was spotted at City Hall around 3:45 p.m. but declined to answer questions.

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She sent out her resignation email just before 4:30 p.m. — when she had been scheduled for a routine Zoom meeting with City Hall, the sources said.

A 22-year veteran of the Nassau County Police Department, Sewell, a Queens native, spent most of her career policing on Long Island before being named the 45th NYPD commissioner. 

During Sewell’s tenure, the Big Apple saw a drop in shootings despite an overall uptick in crime in the five boroughs, according to department data.

In her first year in office, shootings dropped by 17% and murders by 13% — a trend that continued into this year with another 25% drop in shootings, the stats show. 

However, overall crime jumped by 23% in her first year. 

More reserved than her predecessor, Sewell routinely declined one-on-one interviews with reporters and made far fewer appearances — just nine in her first year compared to Dermot Shea’s 79 during his first 12 months on the job.

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At press conferences, she seldom went off-topic and often declined to take questions.

But on the job, she deployed more NYPD cops in the subways and lobbied Albany lawmakers to relax controversial criminal justice reforms that allowed most suspects to remain free without bail — and was well liked by the rank and file. 

“In her short time with the NYPD, Commissioner Sewell made a real impact,” Patrick Lynch, president of the NYPD Police Benevolent Association, said in a statement. 

“She took over a police department in crisis and faced tremendous challenges from day one. She cared about the cops on the street and was always open to working with us to improve their lives and working conditions,” Lynch said. “There are still enormous challenges facing the NYPD. Her leadership will be sorely missed.”

Detectives’ Endowment Association president Paul DiGiacomo said: “The DEA salutes Commissioner Sewell for leading the NYPD through some of the most tragic and difficult times in the department’s history. Her love of detectives was genuine and sincere — and her support of the union never wavered. Commissioner Sewell’s historic appointment will not soon be forgotten.”

Her appointment was not without controversy — former Seattle Police Commissioner Carmen Best was the odds-on favorite to replace Shea when he stepped down.

Best was passed over after voicing concerns that Adams would be more hands-on, creating a new deputy commissioner spot to oversee the NYPD.

Sewell is just the latest high-ranking city official to flee Adams’ City Hall. Chief of staff Frank Carone, First Deputy Mayor Lorraine Grillo, Social Services Commissioner Gary Jenkins and Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich have all flown the coop on the mayor.

Earlier in the day, Adams, a retired NYPD captain, defended his top-heavy style when asked about The Post’s reporting on the power struggle with the commissioner.

“Let’s be clear on one thing, because this is important,” he snapped. “The people of the city of New York elected one mayor, Eric Adams. That’s who they elected.

“Every agency in the city comes to me with a proposed leadership,” he said.

Additional reporting by Bernadette Hogan and Joe Marino