In his first hours on the job, Interim NYPD Commissioner Thomas Donlon warned executives that “I'm the only one with a say in this department,” while privately saying the nation's largest police force was in chaos, sources said.
But there are limits to the interim top officer's strict “I'm the boss” attitude.
Mayor Eric Adams has rejected efforts by Mayor Donlon to clean up the NYPD's upper echelons by firing some top brass in his first week, police sources told The Washington Post.
According to a person familiar with Mayor Adams' thinking, the mayor doesn't want to try to clean up the house internally without knowing the full extent of the federal investigation that ousted former City Commissioner Edward Cavan.
In any case, Adams is hopeful that Donlon, a former FBI officer with a distinguished record, will help rebuild the NYPD's image until a long-term commissioner can be appointed, the people said.
Sources insisted Donlon felt secure in his position despite facing a federal investigation over the weekend looking for 20-year-old “materials” used in his past work.
According to sources, although his term in office is short, the new police commissioner met with senior officers for the first time on September 13 to demonstrate his capabilities.
Donlon told the crowd at the Enforcement Command Center that he plans to institute a “one voice” policy in NYPD messaging, a move that insiders said would effectively silence social media tweets from such Twitter-loving officers as Sergeant John Chell and Deputy Chief of Operations Kaz Daughtry.
The move infuriated many executives who see social media as key to their public safety strategy, sources said.
But critics have long condemned recent offensive social media posts by government officials as unprofessional at best.
The NYPD has remained silent on social media since Donlon's directive.
Tweeted photos The meeting with Donlon paints a picture of displeased expressions on the faces of many NYPD brass.
Sources said police leaders were also surprised by Donlon's earlier plans to effectively end proactive policing, particularly the Community Response Teams – a revamped version of the police's disbanded crime unit.
Donlon is surrounding himself with a group of close advisers, according to sources.
But Donlon's hopes of firing current police leaders are likely to remain a mystery.
Adams and city hall officials believe any personnel changes at the NYPD are risky because of the federal investigation, insiders said. Police officials are also reluctant to launch their own investigations into possible misconduct for fear of dragging the federal government down, the people said.
Sources said the general consensus was that it would be foolish to transfer senior police officials whose involvement may or may not be known until the charges being investigated by the federal government are known.
Adams also wants to give the incoming permanent chairpersons the opportunity to appoint whoever they want to the ministry's top job, according to people familiar with the matter.
Until then, Donlon has been in charge, and his first department-wide message on Monday emphasized collaboration.
“Together we will make the safest big city in America even safer,” he wrote.
-Additional reporting by Joe Marino
