Police Commissioner Edward Caban has resigned amid an ongoing federal investigation.
Multiple outlets reported on Sept. 12 that Caban had stepped down from the post he held for roughly a year as head of the 34,000-member NYPD. Two high-ranking police sources subsequently confirmed those reports with amNewYork Metro.
Mayor Eric Adams, in a livestreamed address early Thursday afternoon, confirmed that he has accepted Caban’s resignation and named Tom Donlon, a global security executive, as the department’s interim commissioner. The mayor reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week and is quarantining.
“A short time ago I accepted the resignation of NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban,” Adams said. “He concluded that this is the best decision at this time. I respect his decision and wish him well.”
In an internal departmental email sent to the NYPD rank-and-file and obtained by amNewYork Metro, Caban said he was taking his leave “for the good of this city and this department.” He said the “news around recent developments has created a distraction for our department, and I am unwilling to let my attention be on anything other than our important work.”
“Thank you for the trust you have placed in me, and for the opportunity you have given me to serve alongside the members of this great department,” Caban told NYPD members in the email. “I feel strongly that we have the best police force in the world, and have complete faith in the leaders across the NYPD.”
Caban departs the post amid an ongoing federal probe that saw his cell phone confiscated and an investigation into the nightlife dealings of his twin brother, James Caban. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York is apparently behind this investigation. The news came in the wake of federal raids conducted at the homes of several top aides to Mayor Eric Adams and other reported investigations into the administration.
Earlier this week, Politico had reported Caban’s resignation was imminent; but multiple sources denied that the story was true. On Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams also denied rumors he was seeking Caban’s departure, though he did not give him an explicit vote of confidence in his leadership.
During his address, Adams heaped praise upon Caban for a drop in crime over 13 of the 14 months that he led the NYPD.
Sibling investigation
The New York Daily News and The New York Post released several scathing pieces Wednesday citing anonymous sources that James Caban was given police protection while in the Big Apple and was even handed several personal NYPD drivers. The reports went on to add that the top cop look-alike was given the enforcement detail mere days after his more famous brother was sworn into office.
This comes amid a public relations nightmare for the department and the Adams administration. Law enforcement sources have not only confirmed that the police commissioner was forced to give up his cellphone to investigators as his brother faces claims that he performed shady favors for nightclub associates and several homes of Mayor Eric Adams’ top aides suffered raids from investigators.
While the NYPD officially stated that the department cannot comment due to an ongoing investigation by New York Southern District, high-ranking sources say the eye feel that police production would be granted to his brother since he is a twin and the public may have mistaken him for the police commissioner.
Caban succeeded Keechant Sewell over the summer of 2023 after an apparent falling out between the NYPD’s first female top cop and Mayor Eric Adams that made headlines when she abruptly announced her resignation. The then-first deputy commissioner became acting police commissioner before formally stepping into the role proper in an emotional July 17, 2023 ceremony on the steps of the Bronx’s 40th Precinct, where he began his career over three decades prior.
Despite receiving high praise, Caban had a record of police misconduct allegations prior to taking the helm at the NYPD.
Reaction
Various elected officials welcomed the news of Caban’s resignation, including City Council Member Robert Holden (D-Queens), the conservative Democrat who, a week ago, called for the commissioner’s departure as news of the investigation broke.
“I want to thank Police Commissioner Caban for his dedicated service to the city and for making the difficult decision to step down for the greater good of the department and New York,” Holden stated. “The integrity of the NYPD is paramount, and his decision allows the department to move forward without this distraction, ensuring it can continue its critical mission of providing public safety for all New Yorkers.”
At her press conference before the City Council’s stated meeting Thursday, Speaker Adrienne Adams expressed hope that the resignation would help turn the page at the NYPD.
Others were less gracious than Holden or Adams. Queens Assembly Member and potential 2025 mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani suggested the situation was only symptomatic of a larger problem at City Hall.
“The Mayor’s second NYPD Commissioner has resigned in scandal. Adams promised both safety and justice—and then stacked the leadership of the nation’s largest police force with bullies and crooks,” the far-left Mamdani wrote. “Another commissioner won’t fix this. Only a new Mayor can.”
Another challenger to Adams, former City Comptroller Scott Stringer, piled on — saying that the mayor’s “rudderless and chaotic City Hall has caused dysfunction and a leadership vacuum at the NYPD.”
“Now, Mayor Adams needs to explain why officials he has chosen to serve in his administration keep attracting the attention of federal prosecutors,” Stringer added in a statement.
Brooklyn state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, another Adams challenger next year, charged that Caban’s resignation “only adds to the concerning pattern of instability within the Adams administration.”
“As our city’s housing shortage worsens and the cost of living rises, New Yorkers deserve steady, focused leadership from City Hall — rather than constant turnover and distractions,” Myrie said.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, the second-highest ranking citywide elected official, called Caban’s resignation “a correct decision” and hoped that the next police commissioner, Donlon, would “have the trust of both the department and the city, to be legitimately committed to transparency and accountability, and to understand the roles law enforcement should and should not play in producing public safety. Too many actions under the current administration have undercut those aims.”
“[T]he mayor still urgently needs to provide real transparency into this moment of confusion for city leadership,” Williams said. “New Yorkers have to be able to have faith in public service and in public servants, and no ego or agenda can get in the way of that obligation.”
This is a developing story; check with amNY.com later for further updates.
