New NYPD commissioner reverses transfers of hundreds of 'hiding' officers

While news of an arrest in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare's CEO dominated headlines on Dec. 9, newly appointed NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch quietly launched another search of her own: determining the whereabouts of hundreds of on-duty officers.

That day, one of Tisch’s subordinates issued a memo highlighting more than 500 "improper transfers" — or reassignments without proper approval or paperwork — and set a Dec. 13 deadline for the officers to return to their assigned posts. The directive also banned the practice, stating it leads to slower response times to emergencies. The internal memo, which was obtained by Gothamist, represents one of Tisch's first major administrative moves to restore order to a department that has been rocked by turmoil and leadership changes during Mayor Eric Adams' administration.

Public safety experts and people who worked with Tisch at the police department and sanitation department said the memo reflects her hands-on approach to management.

“Even though she wasn’t in uniform, she understands management,” former NYPD Assistant Commissioner Kevin O’Connor said. “You can't manage if your ship isn't in order.”

The memo, dated Dec. 9, cited an internal audit that found hundreds of officers were transferred without proper paperwork and approvals.

“This practice, commonly referred to as ‘telephone message transfers,’ has always been unauthorized and results in the department’s inability to appropriately account for staffing and ensure sufficient manpower for operational matters,” the memo said.

Tisch did not respond to repeated requests for an interview. An NYPD spokesperson confirmed the memo's existence but did not comment further.

The memo issued to all police commands came less than two weeks after the Department of Investigation issued a report highlighting improper transfers to the NYPD’s Community Response Team – a key crime fighting initiative under Adams. The unit, which has cracked down on illegal vendors, ATV riders and ghost cars, lacked written policies and procedures and a mission statement, the Department of Investigation found. Even the precise number of officers in the citywide unit was unclear.

“It is difficult to pinpoint the exact number of officers in the unit at a given time, especially because many officers are temporarily transferred into the unit for the first 90 days of their tenure,” the Department of Investigation wrote in its report.

One of Tisch’s mentors, former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, said telephone message transfers were intended to empower lower-ranked commanders but had become “overused.” Ending it, he said, would help address staffing shortages by ensuring officers are in their proper assignments.

As of November, department personnel data showed the uniformed headcount was just under 33,400 — the lowest since 1990, when there were 32,451. Meanwhile, the time it takes for police to respond to 911 calls is up. Since 2019, response times have risen from around 10 minutes to more than 15 minutes for crimes in progress, according to city data.

”The whole issue here is unfortunately the department is significantly short-staffed,” Bratton said. “ My assumption is that what they're looking for are people who are not in critical assignments, those temporary assignments that can be returned back to patrol and operational duties.”

Elizabeth Glazer, who currently runs Vital City, a nonprofit that reports on public policy issues, including policing, described Tisch’s decision as “a very strong statement.”

“That’s the essence of what a successful police commissioner does — deploy the right people to the right places to get things done,” said Glazer, who led the Office of Criminal Justice under former Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Adams’ appointment of Tisch, a 43-year-old scion of a billionaire family that co-owns the New York Giants, has been met with skepticism in some police circles despite her extensive experience in city government. She spent the last three years as the city’s sanitation commissioner and earned a reputation as a demanding technocrat who implemented the mayor’s priorities: promoting the city’s war on rats, expanding composting and rolling out a program to put trash in containers.

In addition to Bratton, her supporters include Harry Nespoli, the head of the sanitation union who represents over 4,000 uniformed workers.

Mayor Adams swore Tisch in as commissioner last month.

“She always backed the most important things on this job,” Nespoli said. “Keeping the workforce happy.”

At the same time, little is known about Tisch’s stances on controversial policing issues such as stop-and-frisk and the NYPD’s disciplinary process.

Tisch is said to have long sought to serve as the city’s top cop. But she is the fourth NYPD commissioner in just three years. Adams’ first commissioner, Keechant Sewell, resigned less than two years into the job after speaking out about sexism. Her successor, Edward Caban, resigned after the FBI seized his phones in connection with a reported investigation into his twin brother’s nightlife consulting business. Adams then appointed an interim commissioner, former FBI official Tom Donlon, whose home was raided by federal authorities. Donlon said the visit was related to a search for classified information at his home.

Amid all the turnover, Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry and NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell took on roles as the public faces of the department. Both were unusually combative, insulting reporters and taking leading roles in highly produced videos made in-house showing police operations.

Adams expressed support for Tisch’s move at a community forum on Monday.

“We need an all-hands-on-deck. You have a gun, a shield, you're not dealing with a medical issue. You need to be back on patrol. Everyone needs to be back on patrol so that we don't have shortages of police personnel. I want my people in the precincts. That is what Commissioner Tisch is going to do,” the mayor said.

“Cops are masters, as good as they are at fighting crime, they're masters at hiding out somewhere. We got to find them. Go desk by desk, unit by unit, and say, ‘What are you doing?’” Adams said.