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New York City police commissioner resigns after his phone was seized in federal investigation

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New York City police commissioner resigns after his phone was seized in federal investigation
News

News

New York City police commissioner resigns after his phone was seized in federal investigation

2024-09-13 06:37 Last Updated At:06:40

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban resigned Thursday, one week after it emerged that his phone was seized as part of a federal investigation that touched several members of Mayor Eric Adams’ inner circle.

Caban, who had been in charge of the nation’s largest police department for about 15 months, said in an email to staff that he made the decision to resign after the “news around recent developments” had “created a distraction for our department.”

“I am unwilling to let my attention be on anything other than our important work, or the safety of the men and women of the NYPD,” he added in the email obtained by The Associated Press.

At a news conference Thursday, Adams praised Caban for “making our city safer” and said he had named Tom Donlon, a retired FBI official, as the interim police commissioner.

Donlon previously served as the chief of the FBI’s National Threat Center and once led the Office of Homeland Security in New York, before starting his own security firm in 2020. He helped lead the investigation into the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and investigated the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings and USS Cole bombing.

Donlon said in a statement he was “honored and humbled” to head “the greatest law enforcement agency in the world,” and that his priorities would include removing illegal guns from the community.

Caban's resignation marks the first high-level departure from the Adams administration since federal investigators seized phones Sept. 4 from several members of the mayor’s inner circle, including two deputy mayors, the schools chancellor, and one of Adams’ top advisers.

The subject of the investigation, which is being led by U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan, remains unclear, as does whether federal authorities were seeking information linked to one investigation or several.

Caban's lawyers, Russell Capone and Rebekah Donaleski, said in a statement Thursday they had been told by the government that “he is not a target of any investigation being conducted by the Southern District of New York, and he expects to cooperate fully with the government.”

The Justice Department defines a target of an investigation as someone whom prosecutors or a grand jury have gathered substantial evidence against that links the person to a crime. That’s in contrast to a subject, which is someone whose conduct is merely within the scope of the investigation. But those definitions are notoriously fluid and a person not seen as a technical target one day can become a target the next as new information develops.

Federal authorities are also investigating Caban’s twin brother, James Caban, a former NYPD sergeant who runs a nightclub security business, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person could not publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

James Caban “unequivocally denies any wrongdoing,” his lawyer, Sean Hecker, said in a statement. “His work – as a consultant and acting as a liaison between the Department and a private company – is perfectly legal, especially given his previous career as a NYPD officer,” Hecker continued.

James Caban was fired by the NYPD in 2001 after he was heard on a recording illegally detaining a cab driver whom he accused of stealing $100 and threatening to seize his vehicle.

According to people familiar with the matter, other officials whose devices were recently seized include First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright; Philip Banks, the deputy mayor for public safety; his brother David Banks, the schools chancellor; and Timothy Pearson, a mayoral adviser and former high-ranking NYPD official. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.

Adams, a first-term Democrat, was subpoenaed in July, eight months after federal agents seized his cell phones and an iPad while he was leaving an event in Manhattan. Federal authorities haven’t publicly accused him or any officials of any crimes, and Adams has denied any wrongdoing.

The investigation that led to Edward Caban’s devices being seized is not believed to be tied to a probe that led federal investigators to seize Adams’ devices last November, according to two people familiar with the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Caban, 57, was the first Latino to lead the 179-year-old NYPD. He started as a patrol officer in 1991 in the Bronx, where he grew up, and worked in precincts across the city as he was promoted. His father, retired Detective Juan Caban, had served with Adams, a former police captain, when they were both on the city’s transit police force. Three of Caban’s brothers were also police officers.

He was the department’s second-in-command before being named commissioner last year.

Caban replaced Keechant Sewell, the first woman to lead the force. She resigned 18 months into a tenure clouded by speculation that she was not truly in charge.

As commissioner, Caban presided over continuing declines in some major crime categories, including shootings and murders, but was also criticized for his handling of officer discipline, including two officers who did not face any internal disciplinary action in the fatal shooting of a Black man, Kawaski Trawick, inside his Bronx apartment in 2019.

Donlon's appointment marks the first time in more than two decades that someone without prior experience serving in a local police department will lead the NYPD. Close observers of the agency described the move as both politically strategic and potentially risky.

“It gives the mayor some credibility at a time when his police department and administration are facing federal investigations,” said Jeffrey Fagan, a Columbia Law School professor focused on policing. “At the same time, will someone with no experience in a complex municipal police department and no real power base be able to clean up this mess?”

Associated Press reporter Eric Tucker contributed to this report.

This undated photo provided by the Office of the New York Mayor, shows Tom Donlon, a retired FBI official who was named as the interim police commissioner of the New York City Police Department, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Office of the New York Mayor via AP)

This undated photo provided by the Office of the New York Mayor, shows Tom Donlon, a retired FBI official who was named as the interim police commissioner of the New York City Police Department, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Office of the New York Mayor via AP)

People walk past One Police Plaza, the headquarters of the New York City Police Department, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

People walk past One Police Plaza, the headquarters of the New York City Police Department, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

FILE - Edward A. Caban, left, speaks after being sworn in as NYPD police commissioner outside New York City Police Department 40th Precinct, July 17, 2023, in New York. Mayor Eric Adams on the right. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon, File)

FILE - Edward A. Caban, left, speaks after being sworn in as NYPD police commissioner outside New York City Police Department 40th Precinct, July 17, 2023, in New York. Mayor Eric Adams on the right. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon, File)

FILE — Edward A. Caban speaks after being sworn in as NYPD police commissioner outside New York City Police Department 40th Precinct, July 17, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon, File)

FILE — Edward A. Caban speaks after being sworn in as NYPD police commissioner outside New York City Police Department 40th Precinct, July 17, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon, File)

LONDON (AP) — A British teen pleaded guilty Monday to murdering three girls and attempting to kill 10 other people in what a prosecutor said was a “meticulously planned” stabbing rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England last summer.

Axel Rudakubana, 18, entered the surprise plea as jury selection had been expected to begin at the start of his trial in Liverpool Crown Court.

The July 29 stabbings sent shock waves across the U.K. and led to a week of widespread rioting across parts of England and Northern Ireland after the suspect was falsely identified as an asylum-seeker who had recently arrived in Britain by boat. He was born in Wales.

The attack occurred on the first day of summer vacation when the little girls at the Hart Space, a sanctuary hidden behind a row of houses, were in a class to learn yoga and dance to the songs of Taylor Swift. What was supposed to be a day of joy turned to terror and heartbreak when Rudakubana, armed with a knife, intruded and began stabbing the girls and their teacher in the seaside town of Southport in northwest England.

“This was an unspeakable attack — one which left an enduring mark on our community and the nation for its savagery and senselessness," Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Ursula Doyle said. “A day which should have been one of carefree innocence; of children enjoying a dance workshop and making friendship bracelets, became a scene of the darkest horror as Axel Rudakubana carried out his meticulously planned rampage.”

Prosecutors haven’t said what they believe led Rudakubana — who was days shy of his 18th birthday — to commit the atrocities, but Doyle said that it was clear he had a “a sickening and sustained interest in death and violence.”

Rudakubana had consistently refused to speak in court and did so once again when asked to identify himself at the start of the proceedings. But he broke his silence when he was read the 16-count indictment and asked to enter a plea, replying “guilty” to each charge.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and additional charges related to possessing the poison ricin and for having an al-Qaida manual.

Rudakubana faces life imprisonment when sentenced Thursday, Justice Julian Goose said.

Defense lawyer Stanley Reiz said that he would present information to the judge about Rudakubana's mental health that may be relevant to his sentence.

The surviving victims and family members of those killed were absent in court, because they had expected to arrive Tuesday for opening statements.

Goose asked the prosecutor to apologize on his behalf that they weren't present to hear Rudakubana plead guilty.

He pleaded guilty to murdering Alice Da Silva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6.

Eight other girls, ranging in age from 7 to 13, were wounded, along with instructor Leanne Lucas and John Hayes, who worked in a business next door and intervened. Fifteen other girls, as young as 5, were at the class but uninjured. Under a court order, none of the surviving girls can be named.

Hayes, who was stabbed and seriously wounded, said he still had flashbacks to the attack and was “hugely upset at the time that I wasn’t able to do more.”

“But I did what I could in the circumstances,” he told Sky News. “I’m grateful to be here, and by all accounts I’ll make a full recovery, at least physically. … I’m going to be OK and others won’t be, and that’s really where I I think the focus of attention should be.”

Police said the stabbings weren’t classified as acts of terrorism because the motive wasn’t known.

Several months after his arrest at the scene of the crime, Rudakubana was charged with additional counts for production of a biological toxin, ricin and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism for having the manual in a document on his computer.

Police said they found the evidence during a search of his family's home in a neighboring village.

The day after the killings — and shortly after a peaceful vigil for the victims — a violent group attacked a mosque near the crime scene and pelted police officers with bricks and bottles and set fire to police vehicles.

Rioting then spread to dozens of other towns over the next week when groups made up mostly of men mobilized by far-right activists on social media clashed with police during violent protests and attacked hotels housing migrants.

More than 1,200 people were arrested for the disorder and hundreds have been jailed for up to nine years in prison.

Media waits outside Liverpool Crown Court in Liverpool, England, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 where Axel Rudakubana is charged with killing three girls and wounding 10 other people in a stabbing rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England last summer.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

Media waits outside Liverpool Crown Court in Liverpool, England, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 where Axel Rudakubana is charged with killing three girls and wounding 10 other people in a stabbing rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England last summer.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

A prison van believed to contain Axel Rudakubana leaves Liverpool Crown Court in Liverpool, England, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 where Rudakubana is charged with killing three girls and wounding 10 other people in a stabbing rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England last summer.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

A prison van believed to contain Axel Rudakubana leaves Liverpool Crown Court in Liverpool, England, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 where Rudakubana is charged with killing three girls and wounding 10 other people in a stabbing rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England last summer.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

In this Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook, Southport stabbings suspect Axel Rudakubana appears on the first day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court, where he has pleaded guilty to killing three young girls and wounded 10 other people in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, in Liverpool, England, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Elizabeth Cook/PA via AP)

In this Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook, Southport stabbings suspect Axel Rudakubana appears on the first day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court, where he has pleaded guilty to killing three young girls and wounded 10 other people in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, in Liverpool, England, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Elizabeth Cook/PA via AP)

People queue at Liverpool Crown Court in Liverpool, England, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 where Axel Rudakubana is charged with killing three girls and wounding 10 other people in a stabbing rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England last summer.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

People queue at Liverpool Crown Court in Liverpool, England, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 where Axel Rudakubana is charged with killing three girls and wounding 10 other people in a stabbing rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England last summer.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

A prison van believed to contain Axel Rudakubana arrives at Liverpool Crown Court in Liverpool, England, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 where Rudakubana is charged with killing three girls and wounding 10 other people in a stabbing rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England last summer.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

A prison van believed to contain Axel Rudakubana arrives at Liverpool Crown Court in Liverpool, England, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 where Rudakubana is charged with killing three girls and wounding 10 other people in a stabbing rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England last summer.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

A prison van believed to contain Axel Rudakubana arrives at Liverpool Crown Court in Liverpool, England, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 where Rudakubana is charged with killing three girls and wounding 10 other people in a stabbing rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England last summer.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

A prison van believed to contain Axel Rudakubana arrives at Liverpool Crown Court in Liverpool, England, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 where Rudakubana is charged with killing three girls and wounding 10 other people in a stabbing rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England last summer.(AP Photo/Jon Super)

FILE - Police officers watch members of the public outside the Town Hall in Southport, England, Aug. 5, 2024 after three young girls were killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club the week before. (AP Photo/Darren Staples, File)

FILE - Police officers watch members of the public outside the Town Hall in Southport, England, Aug. 5, 2024 after three young girls were killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club the week before. (AP Photo/Darren Staples, File)

FILE - Tributes are seen outside the Town Hall in Southport, England, Aug. 5, 2024 after three young girls were killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club the week before. (AP Photo/Darren Staples, File)

FILE - Tributes are seen outside the Town Hall in Southport, England, Aug. 5, 2024 after three young girls were killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club the week before. (AP Photo/Darren Staples, File)

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