New York City police commissioner quits following the seizure of his cell phone. taken in a federal probe
New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban has resigned. The announcement was made Thursday, a little over one week since his phone was taken in the course of an investigation by the federal government.
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban resigned Thursday, one week after it emerged that his phone was seized as part of a federal investigation that touched several members of Mayor Eric Adams’ inner circle.
Caban was responsible for the country’s largest police department for more than 15 months, wrote in an email to his staff that he took the decision to quit after it became clear that the “news around recent developments” have “created a distraction for our department.”
“I am unwilling to let my attention be on anything other than our important work, or the safety of the men and women of the NYPD,” the officer said in an email that was obtained from The Associated Press.
At a news conference held Thursday, Adams praised Caban for “making our city safer” and announced that he had appointed Tom Donlon, a retired FBI official, to be acting police chief.
Donlon was previously director for the FBI’s National Threat Center and once headed his own Office of Homeland Security in New York, before starting his own security company in the year 2020. He was the lead in investigations into 1993’s World Trade Center bombing and was a part of the investigation into in 1998 the U.S. Embassy bombings and USS Cole bombing.
Donlon stated in a statement that in a statement that he said he was “honored and humbled” to lead “the greatest law enforcement agency in the world,” and said his main responsibilities include the removal of guns used for illegal purposes from the local community.
Caban’s resignation is the first major departure from Adams’ administration. Adams administration since federal investigators confiscated phones on Sept. 4 from a number of members of Adams’ inner circle which included two assistant mayors, the chancellor of schools as well as one of Adams the top advisers.
The topic of the probe that is led by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan is not clear and neither is the question of whether federal authorities were pursuing information related to one investigation or more.
Caban’s attorneys, Russell Capone and Rebekah Donaleski, announced in a statement on Thursday that they were told by government officials that “he is not a target of any investigation being conducted by the Southern District of New York, and he expects to cooperate fully with the government.”
It is the Justice Department defines a target of an investigation as a person against whom the grand jury or prosecutors have found evidence which ties the individual to the commission of a crime. This differs from the term “subject,” which refers to an individual whose actions are not in the context of the investigation. However, these definitions are notoriously variable and someone who’s that is not considered technically targeted at one time could become one day a target when new information is discovered.
Authorities from the federal government are also looking into Caban’s brother James Caban James Caban, an ex- NYPD sergeant, who operates the security of nightclubs according to a source who has knowledge of the situation. The source was unable to reveal the details of the ongoing investigation, but spoke to AP on the condition that they remain anonymous.
James Caban “unequivocally denies any wrongdoing,” his lawyer, Sean Hecker, said in the statement. “His work – as a consultant and acting as a liaison between the Department and a private company – is perfectly legal, especially given his previous career as a NYPD officer,” Hecker continued.
James Caban was fired by the NYPD in 2001 following an incident where the NYPD listened to him on a tape unlawfully detaining a taxi driver who he claimed was taking $100 from him and threating to seize his car.
According to sources who are familiar with the situation others who’s devices were recently confiscated include the First deputy mayor Sheena Wright. Philip Banks, the deputy mayor responsible for public security as well as His brother David Banks, the schools chancellor as well as Timothy Pearson, a mayoral advisor who was formerly a high-ranking NYPD official. The individuals spoke on the conditions of anonymity as they weren’t legally authorized to speak about the investigation.
Adams was an incumbent Democrat, was subpoenaed in July, eight months following the time that federal agents took his cell phones as well as an iPad when leaving an event in Manhattan. Federal authorities haven’t officially claimed that he or any official of any crime or crimes, as well Adams has denied any wrongdoing.
The probe which led to the Edward Caban’s gadgets getting confiscated isn’t believed to be linked to a probe that prompted federal authorities to confiscate Adams devices in November according to two sources who are familiar with the issue. They spoke under a the condition that they remain anonymous as they were not permitted to speak in public.
Caban of 57 is the very first Latino to head the now 179 year-old NYPD. He began his career as a patrol officer in the year 1991 in the Bronx in the Bronx, where he was raised up. He was employed in various precincts throughout the city before being promoted. His father, detective Juan Caban, had served alongside Adams an ex-police captain, while they both were on an urban transit police unit. Three of Caban’s siblings were police officers.
The department’s second-in command prior to being appointed the department’s commissioner last year.
Caban succeeded Keechant Sewell as one of the women who was first to head the NYPD. She quit within 18 months of the period, which was tainted by rumors that she wasn’t really in control.
As the commissioner, Caban presided over continuing reductions in certain key crime categories, like murders and shootings. He was also criticised over his management of police discipline, which included two officers who didn’t face any internal discipline during the fatal shooting of the Black male, Kawaski Trawick, at the Bronx apartment in the year 2019.
The appointment of Donlon marks this is the first time in over two decades that a person with no previous experience in the local police force is in charge of the NYPD. The agency’s close-knit observers have described the decision as strategically strategic and a risky.
“It gives the mayor some credibility at a time when his police department and administration are facing federal investigations,” said Jeffrey Fagan, a Columbia Law School professor who focuses on police work. “At the same time, will someone with no experience in a complex municipal police department and no real power base be able to clean up this mess?”
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Associated Press reporter Eric Tucker contributed to this report.