Dermot Shea

Dermot Francis Shea (born May 24, 1969) is a former American police officer and administrator who was the 44th New York City Police Commissioner. He assumed the position on December 1, 2019, and was sworn in by Mayor Bill de Blasio in a public ceremony on December 2.

Early life and education

Shea's parents were Irish immigrants. His father was a handyman, and his mother was a housewife. At one point he, his parents and siblings all shared a one-bedroom apartment in Sunnyside, Queens. He graduated from Xavier High School in Manhattan in 1986, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business economics from the State University of New York at Oneonta.

Career

Shea started his career in law enforcement with his appointment to the New York City Police Academy in late 1990. After graduating in the top 10% of his academy class, he was sworn in as a Patrolman in April 1991 and assigned to the South Bronx.

As a Deputy Chief in 2013, he quashed an internal investigation into a sergeant with whom he had a mentoring relationship, Juan Duque, and that sergeant's brother, Ruben Duque. Both had defrauded the department of overtime hours and illegally taken patrol cars home. The story didn't become public until 2018. On November 4, 2019, it was publicly announced that Dermot F. Shea would become the 44th Commissioner of the NYPD.

In April 2014, he was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Operations by then Commissioner William Bratton. Prior to this appointment, he had been a chief commanding the Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Operations. He also commanded the 44th and 50th precincts and the Patrol Borough Bronx Anti-Crime Unit.

On April 16, 2018, Shea was promoted to Chief of Detectives.

As Commissioner of the NYPD, Shea stated in public testimony on June 22, 2020 that NYPD officers who had driven into protesters did not use excessive force and said that the officers who were in the vehicle were being "set upon and attacked, and thankfully they were able to get out of that situation with, to my knowledge, no injuries to anyone." He also said in the public testimony that "Our internal affairs bureau investigated this information and preliminarily we have an accounting of that incident where we have officers in a situation where they're essentially being penned in by protesters." Contrary to video allegations provided by ''The New York Times'', "Police Commissioner Dermot F. Shea has maintained that misconduct during the protests was confined to 'isolated cases' and that officers were confronted with violence by protesters." On January 1, 2022, Keechant Sewell succeeded Shea as New York City's police commissioner, when Eric Adams succeeded de Blasio as mayor.

Dates of rank

Sworn in as a Patrolman – 1991

Promoted to Sergeant – 1994

Promoted to Lieutenant – 1999

Promoted to Captain – 2003

Promoted to Deputy Inspector – 2008

Promoted to Inspector – 2010

Promoted to Deputy Chief – 2013

Deputy Commissioner of Operations – 2014

Designated Chief of Crime Control Strategies – January 1, 2017

Promoted to Chief of Detectives – 2018

New York City Police Commissioner – December 1, 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shea, Dermot F.
American people of Irish descent
New York City Police Department officers
Living people
1969 births
People from Queens, New York
State University of New York at Oneonta alumni
Deputy New York City Police Commissioners
New York City Police Commissioners