New York City police commissioner to resign after his phone was seized in federal investigation
NEW YORK — New York City Police Chief Edward Caban said he would resign on Thursday, a week after news broke that his phone has been confiscated as part of a federal investigation that affected several people close to Mayor Eric Adams.
Caban said he made the decision to resign after “news surrounding recent developments” “created a distraction for our department,” according to an email to the police department obtained by The Associated Press.
“I don’t want to focus my attention on anything other than our important work or the safety of the men and women of the NYPD,” he added.
It was not immediately clear who would replace Caban as police chief. Questions to the police were not answered.
Caban was one of several high-ranking city officials whose electronic devices were seized by federal investigators last week, according to people familiar with the matter. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.
The subject of the investigation, which is being led by the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, remains unclear. It was not immediately clear whether federal authorities were seeking information related to one or more investigations.
Federal authorities are also investigating Caban’s twin brother, James Caban, who runs a nightclub security company, said a person familiar with the matter. The person could not publicly discuss details about the ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
Edward Caban, 57, had been in charge of the nation’s largest police force for about 15 months. He was of Puerto Rican descent and was the first Latino to lead the 179-year-old NYPD.
Other officials whose devices have recently been seized include First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright; Philip Banks, the mayor’s deputy for public safety; his brother David Banks, the city’s education chancellor; and Timothy Pearson, an adviser to the mayor and former high-ranking NYPD official.
The searches added to a flurry of investigative activity surrounding Adams’ administration and campaign. Adams, a first-term Democrat, was summoned And his electronics have been confiscatedFederal authorities have not publicly accused him or other officials of any crimes, and Adams denies any wrongdoing.
The investigation that led to the seizure of Caban’s devices is not believed to be linked to an investigation that led federal investigators to seize Adams’ devices last November, according to two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
On Tuesday, Adams acknowledged that the sudden increase in federal oversight “raised a lot of questions and concerns.”
Caban joined the department in 1991 as a patrol officer in the Bronx, where he grew up. His father, retired Detective Juan Caban, had served with Adams, a former police captain, when they were both on the city’s transit police. Three of Caban’s brothers were also police officers.
Caban worked in precincts around the city, rising to sergeant, lieutenant, captain, executive officer, commanding officer, deputy inspector and inspector. He was the department’s first deputy commissioner, second in command, before being named commissioner last year.
Caban replaced Keechant Sewell, the first woman to lead the force. resigned 18 months into a tenure clouded by speculation that she wasn’t really running the department after Adams appointed ex-NYPD chief Philip Banks as his deputy mayor for public safety. She’s now senior vice president of security and guest experience for the New York Mets.
“There is nothing in the world like public service,” Caban said in an interview at his alma mater, St. John’s University, after his appointment. “My father taught me that every day at work is an opportunity to change lives, and at the NYPD, we get to do that every day.”