Following a week of pressure from NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ administration to resign, Edward Caban, the New York City Police Commissioner resigned on Sept. 12 after his cell phone was seized by federal agents, along with the phones of several officials in Adams’ inner circle.
According to the Associated Press, Caban explained his decision to his staff in an email, saying that the news reports surrounding the seizure of his phone “created a distraction for our department.”
In the email, which was obtained by the AP, Caban said, “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.”
According to people familiar with the investigation who spoke to the AP under condition of anonymity, the resignation of Caban is the first high-level resignation since federal investigators seized the phones of Caban, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks, David Banks, the brother of Philip Banks, and New York City Schools Chancellor, and Timothy Pearson, a former high-ranking NYPD official and an advisor to Mayor Eric Adams.
According to ABC 7, Chancellor Banks said at a press conference on Sept. 13 that he is “absolutely not the target” of the federal investigation. Banks also stressed his commitment to integrity, and indicated that federal investigators still had his phone.
“As it relates to myself, I have always lived my life with integrity, every day of my life. And anybody who knows me knows that,” Banks said.
Banks continued, offering clarity on what happened when the feds confiscated his phones. “I would not describe what happened there as a raid. They basically wanted the phones and that was it.”
Currently, the subject of the federal investigation, which is currently being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan is unknown, as is which investigation or investigations the feds are seeking information about.
Caban’s lawyers, Russell Capone and Rebekah Donaleski said in a statement on Sept. 12 that they had been informed that their client “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.”
However, as the AP noted, the Justice Department’s definitions of the terms target and subject of an investigation are fluid and are subject to change based on any evidence that is collected and analyzed by investigators.
According to the New York Times, the NYPD has been reeling as Caban is the second leader of the police department to leave in the last year and a half, following the departure of Keechant Sewell, the first woman to occupy the position.
Bill Bratton, a former New York City Police Commissioner, praised Adams’ quick decision to appoint former FBI agent Thomas Donlon as the interim commissioner, telling ABC 7, “The interim commissioner will provide a buffer during this period of time that the Feds can continue interacting with the police department, they will certainly be wary of interacting with anybody under investigation, thus the need to get this thing wrapped up as quickly as possible for the good of this city, department, country for that matter.”
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