The man who served as the NYPD’s first black chief of detectives and who recently announced his retirement from the department may not be on the sidelines for long, as he will be nominated for a top police position on Long Island, NBC New York has learned.
Rodney Harrison will be nominated to become the next commissioner of the Suffolk County Police Department, according to two officials. The nomination will be announced by County Executive Steve Bellone at a Tuesday press conference, Deputy County Executive Jason Elan told NBC New York. A senior NYPD official also confirmed to News 4 that Harrison had been selected.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea announced in November that Harrison would be stepping down as the force's highest-ranking uniformed officer on Dec. 30. Harrison was a member of the department for 30 years.
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The force's highest-ranking uniformed officer ascended swiftly in recent years, becoming chief of patrol in Jan. 2018, chief of detectives in Dec. 2019 and chief of department in Feb. 2021.
Harrison was the second chief of department to retire this year, after Terence Monahan took a public-safety advisory role with the city last February. The NYPD's top ranks are due for another imminent shakeup, with Mayor-Elect Eric Adams expected to announce his choice for police commissioner in the coming days.
His wife is a retired NYPD lieutenant, and two of their daughters recently became patrol officers.
