An NYPD official who once served as former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s top security aide turned himself in to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office on Wednesday before pleading guilty to criminal charges.
Inspector Howard Redmond, 52, stood before a judge inside criminal court on Aug. 9 and admitted to repeatedly impeding DOI investigators and tampering with evidence while the Department of Investigation (DOI) probed allegations that de Blasio had misused security detail resources in the summer of 2019, during his failed presidential campaign.
As a part of the plea, Redmond will be terminated from the NYPD, sentenced to a conditional discharge, and required to provide 10 days of community service.
“Inspector Redmond engaged in a clear and brazen pattern of obstruction and tampering throughout the entirety of DOI’s investigation,” District Attorney Alvin Bragg said. “Position and rank do not exempt anyone from cooperating and participating with a law enforcement investigation, and we will continue to hold accountable any public official who thinks the rules do not apply to them. I thank our prosecutors for their diligent and thorough investigation into this matter, and to the DOI for their critical assistance and partnership.”
Redmond was most well-known for heading former Mayor de Blasio’s security detail, where he was often seen keeping a keen watch on the city’s top elected official.
When the DOI requested messages shared with Redmond, such as emails and text messages, the inspector apparently lied that did not have any of these documents and did not make an attempt to determine if these documents existed.
In May 2021, DOI made a broad request for documentation of conversations between security detail and City Hall personnel, especially former Mayor de Blasio, and even requested he turn in his work phone. Redmond ignored the requisition for information for several months.
After two months, DOI Commissioner Margaret Garnett reached out to NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Legal Matters for assistance retrieving Redmond’s work phone. Upon finally turning in the phone, he had deleted text messages from the device, including messages with security detail members and activated an auto-deletion setting to clear out messages after 30 days.
In July 2021, DOI demanded Redmond to turn over his NYPD-issued phone, a separate device that he used from his security detail phone; however, upon surrendering the phone to the NYPD Information Technology Bureau he directed them to exchange the old device for a new one. This process entails the old device to be completely wiped of data. He then provided investigators with his new phone and did not inform them that he swapped out the old one.
When DOI discovered the swap, they were able to recover the old phone before the data was erased, when they extracted thousands of text messages.
“Former Inspector Redmond deliberately obstructed an active DOI investigation, ignoring repeated requests for his cell phone and then purposefully deleting critical text messages. Today’s guilty plea and sentencing underscore his serious criminal conduct and reflect a complete disregard for his sworn oath as a police officer. The Manhattan District Attorney’s prosecution of Redmond is a powerful statement that no one is above the law,” DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber said.
According to sources inside the NYPD, Redmond was terminated from the force by the police commissioner last month.
In June of this year, the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB) ordered ex-Mayor de Blasio to cough up $475,000 for the improper security detail usage during out-of-state travel.
