Feds Bust NYPD Police Commissioner Edward Caban

And instantly replace him with a 30-year veteran of the feds, Tom Donlon

NYPD commissioner Edward Caban resigns

By Spectrum News NY1 and Associated Press New York City

UPDATED 12:58 PM ET Sep. 12, 2024 PUBLISHED 11:31 AM ET Sep. 12, 2024

Edward Caban has resigned as commissioner of the NYPD, Mayor Eric Adams announced at a press briefing Thursday. 

"A short time ago, I accepted the resgination of Edward Caban. I concluded that this is the best decision at this time," Adams said. "I respect his decision and I wish him well."

The news of Caban's resignation comes after sources told NY1 last Thursday that federal investigators visited his house and took his phones, and seized electronic devices from several other NYPD executives.

In a letter provided by sources to NY1, Caban wrote that "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, or the safety of the men and women of the NYPD.”

“Which is why – for the good of this city and this department – I have made the difficult decision to resign as Police Commissioner,” the letter goes on to read.

Two other top Adams administration officials had raids executed on their homes last week, according to sources.

At the news conference, Adams said he had named Tom Donlon, a retired FBI official, as the interim police commissioner. Donlon previously served as the chief of the FBI’s National Threat Center and once led the Office of Homeland Security in New York, before starting his own security firm in 2020.

“I thank Commissioner Donlon for stepping in during this critical moment,” Adams said.

In a statement, Donlon said he was "honored and humbled" to be named interim commissioner.

"My goals are clear: continue the historic progress decreasing crime and removing illegal guns from our communities, uphold the highest standards of integrity and transparency, and support our dedicated officers who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe," Donlon's statement reads, in part. "I want to thank outgoing Commissioner Caban for his service to this department throughout his more than 30-year career and I look forward to building on the progress this administration has made keeping New York City the safest big city in America."

Adams said the city saw "a drop in crime for 13 of the 14 months" that Caban was commissioner.

"In his time, as part of the NYPD during our administration, we removed more than 18,000 illegal guns off our streets, had the lowest number of robberies in recorded history in the month of October, in our subway system and throughout the entire last few months, and just had the lowest number of shootings above ground ever in the history - of recorded history in the city - in August," Adams said.

Caban was tapped by Mayor Eric Adams to be NYPD commissioner in July 2023.

He was the first Latino to hold the position.

Spectrum News NY1 will have special coverage of the police commissioner's resignation all day, including a special edition of Inside City Hall at 7 p.m.