Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
New York Post
Fed probe involving NYPD commish creates ‘security issues’ for NYC, ex-front-runner for job warns: ‘Uncharted territory’
By Craig McCarthy,
9 hours ago
The federal probe involving NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban has created “real security issues” for the Big Apple, according to a former front-runner for the top cop’s spot.
Carmen Best — the ex-head of the Seattle Police Department who was once eyed by New York City Mayor Eric Adams for Caban’s job — told The Post in an exclusive sit-down Monday that any active federal investigation involving such a high-ranking person in law enforcement would lead to limited information-sharing between agencies, if not a full blackout.
“This is uncharted territory,” Best said — less than a week after Caban’s home and those of his twin brother and some of Adams’ allies were raided by the feds in a possible corruption investigation.
The probe and ensuing information-sharing issues “would definitely impact [Caban’s job overseeing city security] because you need to know what cases are going on that involve the city and your personnel,” she said.
Former Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best says the FBI probe involving NYPD Commish Edward Caban has created “real security issues” for the Big Apple. Getty Images
“There are real security issues — the FBI has to be able to work together with local police for the safety of the city,” Best said.
“The ability to do the work would be greatly impacted without those briefings. I used to work with the FBI on a myriad of cases, and the partnership was invaluable to us to be able to fight crime in and around the city.”
Best was on the shortlist for the next Big Apple police commissioner during Adams’ 2021 transition into City Hall. She described the process — which relied on Deputy Mayor Phil Banks and top mayoral aide Timothy Pearson for the selection instead of an outside committee — as “unorthodox.”
Caban has refused to step down despite pressure from City Hall. Stephen Yang for the New York Post
Both Banks and Pearson had their homes raided last week as well.
No one has been charged with wrongdoing.
But it has emerged that the feds are allegedly looking into Caban’s twin brother, James, who was appearing to moonlight as an issues “fixer” for swanky restaurants and nightclubs in Manhattan. The full scope of the probe still remains unclear nearly a week later.
But since news of the raids broke Thursday , insiders and policing experts had repeatedly raised concerns about Caban being able to perform his duties as commissioner while facing down the feds in their probe.
The NYPD commish took over the department last year after Keechant Sewell abruptly resigned. AP
The mayor tried to slap down concerns Tuesday, telling reporters the commish would be briefed on terrorism cases since the federal probe had nothing to do with terror.
But he later conceded he didn’t know how the FBI was handling information-sharing with Caban.
The NYPD declined to comment.
Best said the commissioner can only operate on limited information only for so long and is in an “untenable position.
“I think the longer [the probe] lasts, the more at risk the [NYPD] and the city become,” she said.
“It creates this unstable feeling and impacts trust — and the people who bear the brunt of that are the men and women, the thousands of officers who are out there every single day trying to do the job with this cloud of suspicion,” Best said.
For the latest metro stories, top headlines, breaking news and more, visit nypost.com/metro/
Hey Chief with all the Respect . Silence and read all about “Tammany Hall” - S—t happens - but I hold them accountable is the Crisis we are facing in the “Sanctuary Areas”
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.