The New York City police department will have its first Latino commissioner according to Mayor Eric Adams who on Monday announced that Edward Caban will be the next head of the country’s largest police department, making him the first Latino officer to lead the department in its history. 

Caban has served as acting commissioner since former NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell resigned last month after 18 months. The son of a Puerto Rican transit detective, Caban grew up in the Bronx, where the Mayor officially announced his appointment Monday.  

Met with cheers from the crowd, Adams said Caban was “instrumental” in decreasing the city’s crime over the course of time he’s served as acting commissioner. 

“We knew we had to get it right. We knew we had to appoint the right person. And I saw in Eddie long ago, the possibility. I knew that there was something special about Edward Caban,” Adams said. “I’ve watched him, his discipline, his attitude, the diversity of the people who constantly told me what he meant to them.”

Caban’s career first began in a precinct in the Bronx in 1991 and was promoted to deputy inspector in 2008, Mayor Adams said. The Bronx native was then promoted to be the first deputy commissioner in the NYPD in 2022 and has been serving as the acting police commissioner since a few weeks ago, the mayor added.  

“My journey with NYPD began over 32 years ago, a young Puerto Rican kid from Parkchester standing on a foot post in the South Bronx, just like thousands who came before me and thousands who have come after me,” Caban said.

The new head said that the top police officers in the department “didn’t really look like” him when he first began in law enforcement. He said his parents were mentors to him, saying his father was the one to encourage joining the department.

“In those days, the top officers of the police department didn’t really look like me. Police Officer Eddie Caban could not walk into the full precinct, look at the leadership photos hanging on the wall and envision his future,” Caban added. “Now it’s not lost on me that today’s announcement is also a first. Given how many great leaders of Hispanic descent have come before me in the NYPD, to be the first Hispanic police commissioner is an honor of the highest measure.”

Mayor Adams also announced on Monday Tania Kinsella as the first woman of color to serve as the first deputy commissioner of New York City.

“As a mother, I’m always thinking of my own children’s safety and well being,” Kinsella said. “And as the commanding officer of the 120th precinct in my home borough of Staten Island, I have been determined to protect all of our children and families and make a difference in the place I love to call home.”