New York City Police Commissioner James O’Neill has resigned, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday.
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Add New York as an interest to stay up to date on the latest New York news, video, and analysis from ABC News.O'Neill plans to take a job in the private sector.
“I came into this job with one mission: to fight crime and keep everybody safe, and we did it and continue to do it,” O’Neill said during a press conference Monday.
The mayor said O'Neill was the "architect of neighborhood policing. He drove crime to record lows while working tirelessly to bring police and communities together. He leaves behind a city that's safer than it's been in decades," de Blasio tweeted. "I'm lucky to have worked with as good a man as Jimmy O'Neill."
De Blasio introduced a successor, Dermot Shea, who served under O’Neill as Chief of Detectives.
“Dermot is one of the best prepared incoming police commissioners this city has ever seen,” the mayor said at the press conference.
"Born and raised in Sunnyside, Dermot Shea is a New Yorker through and through," de Blasio tweeted. "A 28-year veteran, he knows what it's like to walk a beat and lead a precinct. He helped build the strategies that have driven crime to record lows. He’s a proven change agent. As Commissioner, Chief Shea will focus on putting 21st century precision policing to work in order to deepen police-community bonds and end the scourge of gun and gang violence."
De Blasio focused on Shea’s experience and roots in introducing the leader of a department that has had a strained relationship with minority communities, especially since the death in custody of Eric Garner.