James-Essig
(New York, NY/77WABC)-NYPD Commissioner, Dermot Shea, has announced that Assistant Chief James W. Essig has been prompted to the NYPD’s new Chief of Detectives.
The Commissioner says Essig will build on the department’s critical work in furthering crime-reduction through Neighborhood Policing and the department’s precision-policing efforts.
The vacancy became available when former Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison was promoted to Chief of the Department upon the retirement of Chief Terence Monahan. Monahan is now serving in a position as an advisor to New York City Hall.
The new Chief of Detectives is a 38-year veteran of the NYPD. Chief Essig has led neighborhood precincts and police stations that cover NYCHA complexes. He has been a pioneer in the NYPD’s continuing efforts to investigate and suppress gun violence.
“Chief Essig’s commitment to the public good, and his vision for fair, effective policing, has seen our city through to its historic crime reductions,” said Police Commissioner Dermot Shea. “His experience makes him uniquely suited to carry on the department’s work in fighting violent crime. I am proud to announce his promotion to Chief of Detectives.”
Essig is a New York City native. The department says Essig was born in the neighborhood of Jamaica, Queens. His first assignment was on patrol in Upper Manhattan, though he has also served in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and in Queens. He commanded the 41st and 44th precincts in the Bronx and led police divisions dedicated to serving the residents of city public housing complexes in areas of southern and eastern Bronx.
As commander of the Violence Reduction Task Force, Chief Essig was an early architect of the NYPD’s use of precision policing to focus more intensively on the few individuals in our city considered the primary drivers of violence. Those efforts included a December 2014 takedown of the GS9 gang in a 101-count indictment charging 15 members of the violent Brooklyn street gang with homicide and a series of shootings. The Chief’s work, in that case, reflected the NYPD’s intelligence-driven response to a rash of shootings and violence in the 67th and 69th precincts.
“Throughout my career, my goal has always been to serve New Yorkers, to build ties between communities and their police, and to prevent people from being victims of crime,” Chief James W. Essig said. “My philosophy was – and remains – that if you are one of the few individuals who endanger our communities by carrying an illegal gun, firing one, or using a gun to harm another person, you are our focus. Ascending to this important position as Chief of Detectives is a tremendous honor.”
The core of Chief Essig’s career has been combating violent crime and gun violence In New York City. But when he was awarded a medal for valor in 1985, it was for another kind of service: His valiant efforts to help a woman trapped in the midday collapse of a 35-ton crane in Upper Manhattan.
The chief, then a young officer on patrol in that neighborhood, rushed in to aid and comfort the 49-year-old woman, Brigitte Gerney until Emergency Service Unit officers and others could arrive to begin rescue operations. The woman told the officers that while she was pinned, with her legs seriously injured, her concerns were for the police officers risking their lives to stay by her side for several hours as they worked to free her.
The NYPD released the following synopsis of Chief Essig’s career:
About Assistant Chief James W. Essig
Assistant Chief James W. Essig joined the New York City Police Department in January 1983 and began his career on patrol in the 19 precincts. He also served in Neighborhood Stabilization Unit 4; Police Service Areas 7 and 8, the 19, 41, 44, 84, 100, and 105 precincts; the Brooklyn Warrants Squad; Brooklyn North Narcotics Patrol Borough Brooklyn North; Detective Borough Brooklyn; the Gun Violence Suppression Division; the Violence Reduction Task Force; and the Office of the Police Commissioner.
He was promoted to Sergeant in April 1989; Lieutenant in December 1996; Captain in January 1999; Deputy Inspector in May 2002; Inspector in August 2005; Deputy Chief in December 2010; and Assistant Chief in June 2016.
Currently, the Commanding Officer of the Office of the Police Commissioner, Assistant Chief Essig has also commanded the Gun Violence Suppression Division; Narcotics Borough Brooklyn North; the Violence Reduction Task Force; Police Service Areas 7 and 8; and the 41 and 44 precincts. He served as Executive Officer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn North; Detective Borough Brooklyn; and Police Service Area 7.
Assistant Chief Essig holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from John Jay College and is a 2002 graduate of the Police Management Institute at Columbia University. Assistant Chief Essig is a recipient of the 1985 Pulaski Association Medal for Valor.
