One was inspired by the attacks on the World Trade Center, the other is continuing a family legacy.<\/p>\n
Aaron Edwards and Charles Minch were recently named two of the NYPD\u2019s newest assistant chiefs at a ceremony at police headquarters in Lower Manhattan \u2014 arriving there through different paths.<\/p>\n
Edwards, 45, was still in college when terrorists ravaged the Big Apple on Sept. 11, 2001 \u2014 and his beloved city\u2019s darkest hour set in motion his future as one of New York\u2019s Finest.<\/p>\n
Newly promoted NYPD Assistant Chief Aaron Edwards poses with his family as he takes over command of Patrol Borough Manhattan North. William Farrington<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a college student back in September 2001,\u201d the new commanding officer of the NYPD\u2019s Patrol Borough Manhattan North told The Post. \u201cI saw what happened, and I took one of the first tests\u201d afterward for the academy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw it, I felt it. When everyone was running out [of the Twin Towers], we had our police officers and the other first-responders running in. I thought that was selfless heroism. It just drew me to the profession,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cSince I started, I fell in love with policing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The married father of two from Huntington, LI, calls his new command \u201ca snapshot of the city\u201d \u2014 a patrol borough that runs from Central Park to Harlem and Inwood, \u201ca beautiful mosaic picture of New York City.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edwards joined the force in July 2003, and his time on the job has run the gamut from street patrol to narcotics to administrative roles during the COVID-19 pandemic and the more recent migrant crisis.<\/p>\n
Fellow newly anointed NYPD Assistant Chief Charles Minch (right) is the new commander of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South. William Farrington<\/p>\n
Then-Deputy Inspector Minch (far left) and other officers pose with saved victim Johnelle Mays (center). Erik Thomas\/NY Post<\/p>\n
That challenge came when he was commanding officer of the Midtown South Precinct.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe took over at a really tough time,\u201d he said of himself and his staff. \u201cWe were having some real crime challenges, and we started seeing that there was a migrant crisis, and just navigating that and, you know, all that it took to kind of brining the city back down.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe started to see that crime lower now,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like I was part of that. We saw people really afraid after COVID, and now we\u2019re starting to see its coming back to those pre-COVID times.\u201d<\/p>\n
Minch, 51, also of Long Island, was the executive officer at Patrol Borough Brooklyn South before his promotion to assistant chief and the patrol borough\u2019s new commanding officer.<\/p>\n
Edwards is congratulated by Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch during the promotion ceremony. William Farrington<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad was a retired detective, first-grade detective on the Joint Terrorism Task Force, and he worked on a lot of high-profile domestic terrorism cases,\u201d Minch told The Post. \u201cHe served 25 years with the department, so between us we have 52 and a half years and counting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always just looked up to him, always wanted to follow in his footsteps and I joined the department at the earliest time I could.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you add my grandfather, who was a 20-year fireman, we have 77 and-a-half years of public service to New York City.\u201d<\/p>\n
The married father of two grown boys said his promotion is now the high point of his NYPD career.<\/p>\n
Tisch has filling the ranks, introducing a record-setting class of recruits this month. Stephen Yang for the New York Post<\/p>\n