NYPD First Deputy Commissioner Ben Tucker Retiring December 31, 2021
December 3, 2021
Longtime NYPD pioneer caps accomplished federal and local law enforcement career
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea announced today that Benjamin B. Tucker, who has served as the Department’s First Deputy Commissioner since November 2014, overseeing several of the department’s most integral operations, will be retiring on December 31, 2021.
Under his command, Commissioner Tucker oversees the Department’s Criminal Justice Bureau, Department Advocate’s Office, Force Investigation Division, Labor Relations Office, Office of Professional Development, Risk Management Bureau, Support Services Bureau, Training Bureau, and Trials.
Commissioner Tucker’s decision to retire is a capstone to an NYPD career that began in 1969 and led to his becoming the second-highest ranking departmental official – the NYPD’s 43rd First Deputy Commissioner, and the third African American to hold that position. Born and raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn, his passion for justice has honed an intimate understanding of crime, drug abuse, opportunities for kids, and the fundamentals of the law. Simultaneously, his experience on the frontlines of law enforcement, over an unprecedented period of American history, has given him firsthand expertise on the challenges facing both policing and the public.
“Ben Tucker has been a singularly thoughtful leader, friend, and colleague across the arc of time in our policing profession,” said Police Commissioner Dermot Shea. “Our city, its people, and our Department have benefited for decades from his position as a beacon of integrity and public service. We’ll miss him, but we’ll all be watching with great anticipation for the next storied chapters of his life.”
Commissioner Tucker’s history of service in the NYPD spans the modern era. He worked closely with many former police commissioners, including Benjamin Ward, the city’s first African American police commissioner, who guided his career in the 1980’s including his service as assistant director of the Department’s nascent Civilian Complaint Review Board before it was carved out as an independent city agency in the early 1990s.
The Commissioner also carried out key policy and law enforcement roles in the administration of two past United States presidents – Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama – before he was appointed by former Police Commissioner William J. Bratton to lead the NYPD’s training programs at the beginning of the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio, in February 2014.
“All good things eventually come to a close,” said Commissioner Tucker. “It’s bittersweet to leave a Department I love and helped to shape. But my heart is full and I will forever stand proud as successive generations of New York City police officers step forward, on our foundations, to make even deeper and more lasting contributions to this honorable profession, for our great city and for all its people.”
About First Deputy Commissioner Ben Tucker
First Deputy Commissioner Tucker was first appointed to the NYPD as a police trainee in November 1969. He was sworn in as a patrol officer in 1972, and was promoted to sergeant in 1987. After serving the Department for 22 years, he later served in a public safety capacity in a variety of city, mayoral, and federal posts, including Assistant Director of the Civilian Complaint Review Board, Deputy Assistant Director for Law Enforcement Services in the New York City Mayor’s Office of Operations, and Deputy Director of the Community Oriented Policing Services at the U.S. Department of Justice during President Clinton’s administration. In 2002, he was appointed Chief Executive of the Office of School Safety and Planning in the New York City Department of Education. In 2010, President Obama nominated him as Deputy Director for State, Local, and Tribal Affairs, and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate. There, he directed the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HDTA) program and coordinated federal, state, local and tribal law-enforcement agencies in their effort to dismantle and disrupt drug trafficking. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from John Jay College, a Juris Doctorate from Fordham University School of Law, and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Law degree from Pace University where he is a tenured professor
After beginning his career as a New York City police officer, he served in the 81st, 103rd, 24th, 77th, and 69th precincts, as well as in the Police Academy and in the Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Legal Matters. He returned to the NYPD as Deputy Commissioner of Training in February 2014, and was subsequently appointed by Police Commissioner William Bratton as First Deputy Commissioner in November 2014.
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