NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced Tuesday that he has nominated retiring NYPD Chief of Department Rodney Harrison to be the county's next police commissioner.
Harrison, who joined the NYPD as a cadet in 1991 and became the first person to rise from that rank to Chief of Department, announced last month that he's retiring from the department at the end of December.
The 52-year-old is now poised to become the first Black commissioner in Suffolk County history.
Bellone made the announcement during a 12:30 p.m. news conference on Tuesday.
"I kind of want to consider myself somebody that's done it all. I've walked different walks. I've been undercover, where my partner was shot back in 1995, I was part of the implementation of neighborhood policing," Harrison said.
A former NYPD Chief of Detectives and Chief of Patrol, Harrison would succeed Acting Commissioner Stuart Cameron after the county's first female commissioner, Geraldine Hart, resigned in 2021.
The department has seen some difficult times, plagued with corruption investigations and a struggle to recruit minorities to the force.
"So I'm going to go to those communities and make sure we get the people of color to file for these exams," Harrison said. "Misconduct and corruption is unacceptable and it will not be allowed under my tenure."
Harrison will also look into the Gilgo beach killings with new eyes.
If approved by the legislature this month, Harrison will become the fifth commissioner in 10 years in the county.
"This is tough work, this is not easy, this is not an easy business," Bellone said.
Related
Related
