John M. Chell is an American

law enforcement officer A law enforcement officer (LEO), or police officer or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector or private-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws, protecting life & property, keeping the peace, ...

currently serving as the chief of department for the

New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

(NYPD), the highest-ranking uniformed position in the department since 2024. He has held various leadership roles within the NYPD, including chief of patrol, and has been involved in

public safety Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensu ...

operations,

media relations Media relations involves working with media for the purpose of informing the public of an organization's mission, policies and practices in a positive, consistent and credible manner. It can also entail developing symbiotic relationships with medi ...

, and departmental controversies.

Career

Chief of Patrol

John M. Chell served as the chief of patrol for the

(NYPD) until he was succeeded by Phillip Rivera on December 31, 2024. His role involved overseeing

operations and

. In April 2024, Chell faced scrutiny during an interview with

WNYC WNYC is an audio service brand, under the control of New York Public Radio, a non-profit organization. Radio and other audio programming is primarily provided by a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations: WNYC (AM) and WNYC- ...

radio host

Brian Lehrer Brian Lehrer (born October 5, 1952) is an American radio talk show host on New York City's public radio station WNYC. His daily two-hour 2007 Peabody Award-winning program,

. Lehrer questioned him about his approach to responding to media criticism, specifically concerning allegations that his

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

activity intimidated journalists. Chell denied these claims, emphasizing his intention to counter

misinformation Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information. Misinformation and disinformation are not interchangeable terms: misinformation can exist with or without specific malicious intent, whereas disinformation is distinct in that the information ...

. Lehrer also raised a 2017 incident where Chell shot and killed a man during a

car chase A car chase or vehicle pursuit is the vehicular overland chase of one party by another, involving at least one automobile or other wheeled motor vehicle, commonly hot pursuit of suspects by law enforcement. The rise of the automotive industry i ...

. While official reports classified the shooting as accidental, differing accounts led to a civil jury awarding $2.5 million to the deceased's family. Chell described the incident as a "tragic accident" and noted that he was cleared by the

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

at the time. In March 2024, Chell engaged in a dispute with journalist Harry Siegel over coverage of NYPD activities. This exchange drew criticism from within the department and the public. In October 2024, Chell appeared on duty at a

political rally Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of status or resources. The branch of social science that studies poli ...

for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

in his official NYPD uniform. During the event, he conducted interviews with multiple media outlets, including

Newsmax Newsmax, Inc. (or Newsmax.com, previously styled NewsMax) is an American cable news, political opinion commentary, and digital media company founded by Christopher Ruddy in 1998. It has been variously described as conservative, right-wing, an ...

. His appearance on Newsmax drew criticism from figures like

Shahana Hanif Shahana K. Hanif (born February 5, 1991) is an American politician, activist, and community organizer. Since 2022, she has represented the New York City Council's 39th district which includes the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Park Slope, Windsor ...

, a City Council member, and

Frank Figliuzzi Cesare Frank Figliuzzi, Jr. (born September 12, 1962) is an American former law enforcement agent and author, who served as assistant director for counterintelligence at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Figliuzzi was previously the special ...

, a former FBI assistant director, who expressed concerns about the perceived

politicization Politicisation (also politicization; see English spelling differences) is a concept in political science and theory used to explain how ideas, entities or collections of facts are given a political tone or character, and are consequently assigned ...

of the NYPD. Mayor Adams responded ''“What do we believe John Chell did that was wrong? I’m not quite understanding people. Because when I looked at the interviews, he didn’t make any political statements. And he better have been in uniform, he was working. He was making sure that people who were attending the rally, walking down the block, that they were all protected.”'' Chell has also faced accusations of violating the New York City Conflict of Interest Law through his social media activity. A group of 39 Democratic politicians criticized him for allegedly using his official NYPD account to attack lawmakers and journalists. The group called for disciplinary actions, citing concerns over his rhetoric and its implications for public trust.

Chief of Department

In 2024, Chell was appointed by commissioner Jessica Tisch as the interim chief of department for the NYPD following the resignation of Jeffrey Maddrey. He is the highest-ranking uniformed position in the department. He was formally appointed to the role on December 31, 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chell, John Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) New York City Police Department officers American police chiefs 21st-century people from New York (state)