Who is Tom Donlon, NYPD's new interim commissioner?

NEW YORK -- Thomas Donlon will be New York City's interim police commissioner, Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday.

Adams made the announcement after Edward Caban resigned as police commissioner , following a raid by federal agents . Caban's resignation will be effective Friday, at which point Donlon will take over.

"Tom is an experienced law enforcement professional who has worked at the local, state, federal and international levels. He served as New York's Director of the Office of Homeland Security, ran the FBI's National Threat Center, and the FBI/NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force," Adams said. "I thank Commissioner Donlon for stepping in during this crucial moment."

"I am honored and humbled to be named interim-Commissioner of the New York City Police Department, the greatest law enforcement agency in the world. My goals are clear: Continue the historic progress decreasing crime and removing illegal guns from our communities, uphold the highest standards of integrity and transparency, and support our dedicated officers who put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe," Donlon said in a statement. "I want to thank outgoing Commissioner Caban for his service to this department throughout his more than 30-year career and I look forward to building on the progress this administration has made keeping New York City the safest big city in America."

It's not surprising Adams went with a person from outside the NYPD as the interim commissioner, CBS News New York's Marcia Kramer reported. That is because, given the federal probe into top Adams administration officials, a person from outside the department would be uninvolved in whatever that investigation is looking into.

Donlon's extensive counterterror experience

At the FBI's National Threat Center, Donlon was responsible for the FBI's terror watch list, and put together the FBI's "Guardian" system, a centralized terror threat database. He also previously served as assistant special agent in charge of New York's counterterrorism division.

He had several roles within the FBI, much of them related to counterterror work, including working with the Joint Terrorism Task Force investigating the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the investigation into the bombing of the USS Cole, among other cases.

As director of the Office of Homeland Security in New York, he worked on statewide counterterror measures.

In the private sector, he worked as global director of corporate security at Credit Suisse and Blackrock, among others.

He started his own company, Global Security Resolutions, in 2020.

He's a Bronx native.

Donlon's extensive counterterror experience is critically important as New York City gets ready for a number of high-profile events. Those include the United Nations General Assembly , the upcoming Jewish high holidays, and Oct. 7 marking a year of the Israel-Hamas war , in addition to New York Fashion Week and classes beginning at local universities.

"What has to happen now is the interim police commissioner will come in, he will get briefed by people who know the department very well ... He will then decide what changes to make to ensure continuity of senior management and how to make sure senior management is in sync with crime control, with the detective bureau," said Rich Esposito, former NYPD deputy commissioner and CBS News law enforcement contributor.