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| N.Y.P.D. Commissioner O’Neill Resigns; Dermot Shea to Take Over | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| James P. O’Neill, the New York City police commissioner who tried to mend a racial divide between the Police Department and the public, stepped down from his position on Monday, ending a three-year tenure as head of the country’s largest police force, two officials said. | |
| Mr. O’Neill, 62, who rose from the ranks over three decades to become commissioner, kept crime rates low, securing the gains of his predecessors even as he shifted policing tactics away from aggressive enforcement of low-level offenses. He presided over an era in which murder rates dipped to lows not seen since the 1950s. | Mr. O’Neill, 62, who rose from the ranks over three decades to become commissioner, kept crime rates low, securing the gains of his predecessors even as he shifted policing tactics away from aggressive enforcement of low-level offenses. He presided over an era in which murder rates dipped to lows not seen since the 1950s. |
| He also set out to heal strained relations between the Police Department and black and Hispanic communities when he was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2016. His signature intervention, the department’s neighborhood policing program, was designed to build trust and respect between officers and civilians. | |
| Still, his tenure was marked by some controversies. Commissioner O’Neill is most likely to be remembered for firing a police officer who placed Eric Garner in a lethal chokehold five years earlier. | Still, his tenure was marked by some controversies. Commissioner O’Neill is most likely to be remembered for firing a police officer who placed Eric Garner in a lethal chokehold five years earlier. |
| That decision in August drew praise from Mr. Garner’s family and their supporters, who said it was long overdue. But it angered the police unions, who said Commissioner O’Neill had lost the confidence of rank-and-file officers. Arrest rates dropped in the weeks that followed. | |
| Commissioner O’Neill also took public stands aimed at redressing past controversies, apologizing to the L.G.B.T.Q. community for the department’s handling of the Stonewall uprising in the 1969 and issuing a public apology to a woman who was maligned by police officials after she had been raped in Prospect Park. | Commissioner O’Neill also took public stands aimed at redressing past controversies, apologizing to the L.G.B.T.Q. community for the department’s handling of the Stonewall uprising in the 1969 and issuing a public apology to a woman who was maligned by police officials after she had been raped in Prospect Park. |
| He was expected to announce his reasons for leaving at a news conference on Monday afternoon, but there has been no public sign that his relationship with the mayor was strained and he appeared to be leaving of his own volition. | He was expected to announce his reasons for leaving at a news conference on Monday afternoon, but there has been no public sign that his relationship with the mayor was strained and he appeared to be leaving of his own volition. |
| The commissioner will be replaced by Dermot F. Shea, the current chief of detectives, who in his prior role oversaw the use of data-driven analysis to craft policing strategies, the mayor said in a statement. Mr. Shea will take office on Dec. 1. | |
| “Dermot was one of the chief architects of the approach that has made New York City the safest big city in America,” Mayor de Blasio said. “Dermot is uniquely qualified to serve as our next police commissioner and drive down crime rates even further.” | “Dermot was one of the chief architects of the approach that has made New York City the safest big city in America,” Mayor de Blasio said. “Dermot is uniquely qualified to serve as our next police commissioner and drive down crime rates even further.” |
| The resignation focused renewed attention on the often fraught relationship the mayor has had with many rank-and-file officers. | The resignation focused renewed attention on the often fraught relationship the mayor has had with many rank-and-file officers. |
| Mr. de Blasio came to office promising police reform. But after the assassination of two officers in 2014 and protests of the mayor by fellow officers at their funerals, the mayor largely delegated policing policy to his commissioners, first William J. Bratton and then Mr. O’Neill, who had been the top uniformed officer on Mr. Bratton’s management team. | Mr. de Blasio came to office promising police reform. But after the assassination of two officers in 2014 and protests of the mayor by fellow officers at their funerals, the mayor largely delegated policing policy to his commissioners, first William J. Bratton and then Mr. O’Neill, who had been the top uniformed officer on Mr. Bratton’s management team. |
| With the choice of Chief Shea — another of Mr. Bratton’s top managers — the mayor appears to have decided once again that continuity is the best political choice, one that would open himself up to less criticism should New York City’s long trajectory of declining crime begin to reverse. | |
| Commissioner O’Neill’s neighborhood policing program made building relationships with people a key part of how officers fought crime, shifting the emphasis away from aggressive enforcement of low-level offenses, which had been the department’s longtime tactic for bringing down overall crime. | Commissioner O’Neill’s neighborhood policing program made building relationships with people a key part of how officers fought crime, shifting the emphasis away from aggressive enforcement of low-level offenses, which had been the department’s longtime tactic for bringing down overall crime. |
| The Police Department billed it as the biggest strategy shift in more than 20 years and said its goal was to minimize the collateral damage to communities and officers while continuing to drive down serious crime. | The Police Department billed it as the biggest strategy shift in more than 20 years and said its goal was to minimize the collateral damage to communities and officers while continuing to drive down serious crime. |
| Public officials and community leaders in black and Latino neighborhoods, which had been harmed by decades of aggressive enforcement practices, said the program helped chip away at tensions. But the program’s effectiveness has been limited by a perception that some officers who have done wrong go unpunished, a problem that Officer Pantaleo came to symbolize. | |
| Arrests have been gradually declining throughout Commissioner O’Neill’s tenure, during which the city has also continued to record crime declines. Still, he struggled to overcome public fears of rising crime, stirred in part by warnings from his predecessor and the police unions about the city regressing to worse times. | Arrests have been gradually declining throughout Commissioner O’Neill’s tenure, during which the city has also continued to record crime declines. Still, he struggled to overcome public fears of rising crime, stirred in part by warnings from his predecessor and the police unions about the city regressing to worse times. |
| Those fears have been exacerbated by the alarming rise of hate crimes and mass killings nationwide. A little over a month after Commissioner O’Neill was appointed in 2016, a man inspired by the Islamic State used a pickup truck to kill 11 people in the deadliest terror attack in New York City since Sept. 11, 2001. And the city has recorded rising hate crime reports since the 2016 election season. | Those fears have been exacerbated by the alarming rise of hate crimes and mass killings nationwide. A little over a month after Commissioner O’Neill was appointed in 2016, a man inspired by the Islamic State used a pickup truck to kill 11 people in the deadliest terror attack in New York City since Sept. 11, 2001. And the city has recorded rising hate crime reports since the 2016 election season. |
| At times, Commissioner O’Neill has voiced frustration over what he saw as the lack of attention to how much safer the city has become. Along with the mayor, he has sought to emphasize that the Police Department has continued a trend of declining crime rates even after it adopted a lighter touch. | At times, Commissioner O’Neill has voiced frustration over what he saw as the lack of attention to how much safer the city has become. Along with the mayor, he has sought to emphasize that the Police Department has continued a trend of declining crime rates even after it adopted a lighter touch. |
| Commissioner O’Neill also oversaw the rollout of the largest police-body camera program in the world, though the transparency it was supposed to bring was short-circuited in legal battles that stopped him from releasing footage from controversial encounters. | Commissioner O’Neill also oversaw the rollout of the largest police-body camera program in the world, though the transparency it was supposed to bring was short-circuited in legal battles that stopped him from releasing footage from controversial encounters. |
| He made good will gestures toward groups that had a been alienated by police, including the apology to the Prospect Park rape survivor and to the L.G.B.T.Q. community for the Stonewall Riots. And he showed a willingness to enlist outside help in developing policies and addressing problems. | He made good will gestures toward groups that had a been alienated by police, including the apology to the Prospect Park rape survivor and to the L.G.B.T.Q. community for the Stonewall Riots. And he showed a willingness to enlist outside help in developing policies and addressing problems. |
| Last year, the Police Department held a two-day conference to discuss racial inequalities in policing and other city services. He also opened the department’s opaque discipline process to outside review, met with rape-victims advocates and solicited public feedback that helped shape the department’s body-camera policy. | Last year, the Police Department held a two-day conference to discuss racial inequalities in policing and other city services. He also opened the department’s opaque discipline process to outside review, met with rape-victims advocates and solicited public feedback that helped shape the department’s body-camera policy. |
| Officials, lawyers and activists who have been critical of the department said they appreciated his overtures, even if they did not think he had gone far enough to fix problems in the department. | Officials, lawyers and activists who have been critical of the department said they appreciated his overtures, even if they did not think he had gone far enough to fix problems in the department. |
| “There’s a feeling that O’Neill is someone we can work with,” Donovan Richards, the chairman of the City Council’s public safety committee. “Whether reforms happen in a perfect manner or not, he’s at least kept the door ajar for everybody to talk to him.” | “There’s a feeling that O’Neill is someone we can work with,” Donovan Richards, the chairman of the City Council’s public safety committee. “Whether reforms happen in a perfect manner or not, he’s at least kept the door ajar for everybody to talk to him.” |
| J. David Goodman and Jeffery C. Mays contributed reporting. | J. David Goodman and Jeffery C. Mays contributed reporting. |