Edward Caban, who until recently held the position of New York City Police Commissioner, stepped down from his role on Thursday. This occurred a week following the revelation of his phone being confiscated as part of a federal probe into several individuals closely tied to Mayor Eric Adams. Having led the country’s largest police unit for roughly 15 months, Caban communicated his resignation to his team via an email. He explained that the distraction resulting from recent events necessitated his resignation, as it hammered his focus on the essential responsibilities of his role, foremost of those being the safety of police personnel.
At an ensuing press briefing, Mayor Adams lauded Caban’s contributions to enhancing safety in the city. Shortly after, the Mayor announced that Tom Donlon, a retired FBI official, would be stepping into the role as the provisional police commissioner. Donlon has headed the FBI’s National Threat Center, prior to which he served as the Office of Homeland Security’s chief in New York City. After retiring, he found his security firm in 2020.
Tom Donlon holds an integral place in the course of the city’s safety precautions history, being involved in significant investigation cases. Most noteworthy ones include the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, the 1998 bombing of U.S. embassy and the due diligence carried out in the aftermath of the USS Cole bombing. Upon accepting the role of interim police commissioner, Donlon expressed both his honor and humility in taking the mantle of what he referred to as the ‘world’s premiere law enforcement agency’. He further stated that prioritizing the removal of illicit firearms from the community will be one of his initial tasks.
The departure of Caban is the first instance of a significant exit from the team of Mayor Adams. This happened post the confiscation of mobile phones from a host of individuals part of the mayor’s trusted team. These include two deputy mayors, the chancellor of schools, and a top adviser to Mayor Adams. The seizures took place on the 4th of September, an initiative led by federal investigators.
The probe’s exact objective and whether federal authorities seek information linked to one or multiple investigations is still vague. Caban’s legal representatives, Rebekah Donaleski and Russell Capone, issued a statement on Thursday. They reported that the government has clarified that Caban is not under any investigation by the Southern District of New York. They also mentioned that Caban has a full intention to cooperate with them.
The Justice Department delineates a target of a probe as an individual against whom considerable evidence linking them to a crime has been collected by the grand jury or the prosecutors. In contrast, a subject is a person whose conduct merely falls within the boundaries of the investigation. However, these interpretations can shift unpredictably, and an individual not being a technical target one day can very well be the target the following day based on the newly surfaced information.
Moreover, current investigations are also looking into James Caban, Edward Caban’s twin brother. He is an ex-sergeant of NYPD and now owns a nightclub security business. The person who revealed this very information could not discuss publicly, remaining anonymous. James Caban, through his lawyer Sean Hecker, has publicly denied any accusations of illegal activities. Hecker emphasized James Caban’s work being legal and cited his prior experience as an NYPD officer as further legitimizing his actions.
James Caban faced expulsion from the NYPD back in 2001 due to capturing him on a recording unlawfully detaining a taxi driver, accusation being theft of $100 and a threat to his vehicle. In recent days, several other high-profile individuals had their devices seized, including First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, Public Safety Deputy Mayor Philip Banks, Schools Chancellor David Banks, and Timothy Pearson, a former high-ranker within NYPD and now a mayoral adviser.
Tucking into his first term as a Democrat, Mayor Adams was subpoenaed in July, nearly eight months after federal agents confiscated his personal electronic devices. This happened as he was leaving a Manhattan-based event. As of yet, neither Adams nor any officials have been publicly blamed for any crime and Adams had consistently refuted any wrong decisions.
Edward Caban being under investigation leading to his devices being seized has no apparent relation with a previous federal probe resulting in Adams’ device seizures back in November. The people disclosing this information asked to remain anonymous to avoid public attention. 57 years old Caban holds the distinction of being the first Latino to lead the NYPD, a department with 179 years of history.
Caban’s career took off in 1991 in the Bronx, the neighborhood where he was raised. He then moved across various city precincts fueled by promotions. Caban’s father, Juan Caban who was a retired detective, once worked alongside Adams when they were assigned to the city’s transit police force. Caban is not the only one from his family to take up the mantle of a police officer. He has three brothers who are also police officers. Before the coronation as police chief, he was the NYPD’s second-in-command.
Caban had succeeded Keechant Sewell, who was the first woman in the NYPD’s history to have led the department. Sewell abdicated her position 18 months into her tenure, amidst speculations that she was not the real person in charge. As the commissioner, Edward Caban witnessed a decrease in some of the significant crime categories during his tenure, including shootings and murders.
However, his approach to managing issues related to officer discipline has landed him in hot water. This includes the case of two officers not facing any internal disciplinary action over the 2019 fatal shooting of a Black man, Kawaski Trawick, in his Bronx apartment.
With Donlon’s appointment, it’s the first time in more than twenty years that the NYPD has selected a leader without a local police serving experience. Those closely watching the agency have named this decision strategic yet potentially risky. Jeffrey Fagan, a Columbia Law School professor specializing in police-related studies, equates it to the mayor vying for credibility, especially at a time when his police department and the admin team are under federal scrutiny, questioning how efficiently someone with no experience in a complex city-level police department can fix the ongoing situations.