3 Top NYPD Chiefs to Retire in Department Shake Up
By Rocco Parascandola and Elizabeth Keogh
Source New York Daily News
Three NYPD chiefs are set to retire in the coming weeks in departures that amount to a shakeup at the department’s top levels.
Special Operations Chief Harry Wedin, Chief of Housing Kathleen O’Reilly and Chief of Transit Jason Wilcox will all be leaving the department at the end of the month, the NYPD announced Thursday.
The moves follow the departure of Chief of Department Kenneth Corey, who walked out of the police headquarters for the final time Tuesday after a 34-year NYPD career. Corey’s job is being filled by Chief of Patrol Jeffrey Maddrey, who was named acting chief of department.
The three other chiefs put in for their retirement on Wednesday, according to an internal NYPD memo obtained by the Daily News.
Chiefs with two or more stars, like Wedin, O’Reilly and Wilcox, “serve at the discretion of the police commissioner,” a police source told The News.
“Nobody was fired,” the source added. “Was it a coincidence they all decided to retire the same day? Probably not. But it wasn’t anything that anybody did. No one did anything wrong.”
Wedin joined the department in January 1981, and started his career on patrol in Brooklyn’s 67th Precinct, which covers East Flatbush and Remsen Village.
He was promoted to chief of special operations in 2018, where he oversaw elite units such as the Emergency Service Unit, Aviation Unit, Harbor Unit, Mounted Unit and Strategic Response Group.
O’Reilly was named head of the Housing Bureau in May, overseeing the department’s work in NYCHA developments. After serving just a few months as chief of patrol before Maddrey replaced her. O’Reilly was appointed a police officer in 1991 and worked her way through the ranks, records show.
Wilcox joined the department in April 1987 and worked in the 44th Precinct in the Bronx. He later become the borough’s chief investigator. He was named in January as chief of the transit bureau, which patrols the city’s subway and buses.
“Collectively, these executives devoted nearly a century-and-a-half of service to the NYPD and the people of New York City and we owe them a debt gratitude for their tireless contributions,” said Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell in a statement. “It was a privilege to serve alongside each of them, and I wish them all the best in their future endeavors.”
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