{"id":308493,"date":"2026-07-29T10:54:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T10:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/308493\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T10:54:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T10:54:13","slug":"5-things-to-know-about-new-york-citys-new-sheriff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/308493\/","title":{"rendered":"5 things to know about New York City\u2019s new sheriff"},"content":{"rendered":"

Edwin Raymond was sworn in on July 27 as New York City sheriff in a ceremony at Brooklyn College. Raymond actually took office on May 29, 2026, after his appointment by Mayor Mamdani.<\/p>\n

Raymond leads the Sheriff\u2019s Office, a division of the Department of Finance, which enforces court orders, seizes illegal firearms, investigates fraud, and ensures public safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cSheriff Raymond understands that public safety requires public trust,\u201d said New York State Attorney General Letitia James, who administered the oath to Raymond. \u201cHe will serve with integrity, compassion, and a deep commitment to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani praised Raymond\u2019s dedication, saying, \u201cHis life\u2019s work has been fighting for truth, justice, and safety.\u201d Department of Finance Commissioner Richard Lee said, \u201cWe are fortunate to welcome a sheriff who appreciates both the rich history of this office and the responsibility of leading it into the future. His experience building strong community relationships while advancing accountability will strengthen our mission to serve New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Raymond, a native of East Flatbush and son of Haitian immigrants, expressed humility about the role: \u201cI will continue to lead with integrity, accountability, and fairness, working alongside our dedicated team to serve and protect all New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani selected Raymond after the firing of Anthony Miranda from the position. But before he got this job, Raymond gained notoriety for challenging the NYPD for its quota policing, racialized enforcement, and retaliation inside the department. He has said that he had once hoped to reform the NYPD from within.<\/p>\n

In his new role, Raymond will oversee court mandates, tax enforcement, property seizures, and enforcement actions against unlicensed cannabis businesses under the city\u2019s Department of Finance.<\/p>\n

Who is Edwin Raymond?<\/p>\n

A Brooklyn-born son of Haitian immigrants, Raymond joined the NYPD at 22 after studying criminal justice at John Jay College. He spent 15 years on the force, serving first in Transit District 32 and the 77th Precinct, then rising to sergeant and lieutenant. He eventually became the commanding officer of Brooklyn North Community Affairs.<\/p>\n

Raymond has said that he wanted to be the kind of officer his childhood neighborhood of East Flatbush, Brooklyn, deserved. What he found instead, according to his 2023 memoir, \u201cAn Inconvenient Cop: My Fight to Change Policing in America<\/a>,\u201d was a department where \u201cactivity\u201d \u2014 such as issuing summonses, performing stop-and-frisk actions against Black people and Latinos, and making arrests \u2014 was encouraged more than community safety or crime reduction.<\/p>\n

2015 federal lawsuit<\/p>\n

In 2015, Raymond joined 11 other police officers in a federal lawsuit<\/a> alleging that the NYPD continued to use unlawful numerical quotas for summonses and arrests despite a state ban, and that the burden of those practices fell disproportionately on communities of color. The litigation lasted years. Parts of the case were dismissed at different stages, and the docket shows the case remained active through 2026, including an appeal notice this spring.<\/p>\n

The work he did after leaving the NYPD<\/p>\n

Raymond retired from the NYPD in 2023, wrote the memoir \u201cAn Inconvenient Cop,\u201d and continued speaking publicly about police reform.<\/p>\n

He later joined Attorney General Letitia James\u2019s office as the nation\u2019s first social justice liaison, focused on accountability and integrity in law enforcement.<\/p>\n

East Flatbush shaped him<\/p>\n

The child of Haitian immigrants, Raymond was raised in Black working-class East Flatbush, Brooklyn. Raymond has said that growing up in a place where police scrutiny was persistent shaped his decision to enter law enforcement and has guided his ideas about how public safety and enforcement should look \u2014 particularly in Black neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

In Raymond\u2019s memoir, he writes about his years as a Black officer in New York City and argues that the NYPD does not simply have a few rogue officers but a system of incentives, training, and supervision that rewards the wrong behavior.<\/p>\n

\"\"Photo caption: Book cover for \u201cAn inconvenient cop: my fight to change policing in America\u201d by Edwin Raymond.<\/p>\n

In the book\u2019s introduction, Raymond notes: \u201cI\u2019m a police officer, but it\u2019s not my identity. I am a man who became a cop. At one time, I saw becoming a police officer as a way to serve my community. But when I got into uniform, got a look at things from the inside, I saw something that I couldn\u2019t ignore. Despite my aspirations and inspirations, I wasn\u2019t in a position to fix anything. In trying to rectify the issues, I was mocked, insulted, gaslit, elbowed aside, set up, lied about, retaliated against, and treated as the problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are eighteen thousand law enforcement agencies in the country. Because of New York City\u2019s claim as this country\u2019s safest big city and its influence across the nation, its policing model has been packaged, marketed, and sold across the United States and even to cities overseas.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo when I speak of the ills inside the NYPD, I am speaking of all U.S. policing. New York City is the headwaters of the behavior infecting modern police departments, the red-hot center of the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

New sheriff, new program<\/p>\n

In announcing his appointment, Mayor Mamdani described Raymond as someone who \u201crepresents the kind of public servant New Yorkers deserve: principled, courageous, and deeply committed to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while Raymond said he wants to help build \u201ca safer, fairer, and more accountable city for all New Yorkers,\u201d the Sheriff\u2019s Office is not the NYPD. Raymond\u2019s office will wield similar enforcement power, though, and Raymond now has the opportunity to enforce institutional accountability in this new agency; something he can do on his own.<\/p>\n

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