Keechant Sewell has been named the first woman to lead the New York Police Department (NYPD) as police commissioner.

Mayor-elect Eric Adams (right) named Sewell at a press conference announcing her as the New York Police Departments’ police commissioner on Wednesday, December 15.

Adams held the press conference at the Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City, where Sewell grew up.

“Chief Sewell’s appointment today is a powerful message to girls and young women across the city: there is no ceiling to your ambition,” Adams said.

“She exudes what it means to be emotionally intelligent, calm, collected, confident,” Adams said.

Sewell is a 22-year veteran of the police force and a former member of the hostage negotiations team. She steps down from her position as chief of detectives in Nassau County to become the NYPD’s first woman police commissioner.