Tough, detailed leader is a ‘straight shooter’
Shea can talk numbers — they’ve always come easy, he says — but his real power comes from his time on the street.
“He’s in a position where he’s respected for crime stats, but he’s walked that beat,” said Roy Richter, president of the Captain’s Endowment Association.
He’s even taken his own career lumps, bounced from a post as a Bronx precinct commander to a desk job after clashing with an internal affairs boss over the disciplining of a lieutenant in 2011. Charles Campisi, former head of IAB, declined comment for this story.
Shea instructs the department’s 37,000 uniformed cops to think beyond the arrest: Did you get a conviction? Are you communicating with other precincts? Are you in contact with the district attorney from the start?
“We have six pieces of evidence here. Maybe we needed eight,” he offers by way of explanation. “What good is it if he spends one night in jail?”
It’s that focus on “intelligence-driven prosecution” that draws kudos from Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. “Dermot really understands that it’s all about the end result, and that if police officers are only focused on clearing cases and not getting convictions, that’s going to put them at odds with DA and the communities,” Vance told the Daily News.
“He is absolutely passionate about doing the job right. And I think doing the job right means identifying who is really having the biggest negative impact on our communities, but doing it lawfully. He is a straight shooter.”
‘Nobody is immune’
The 2015 fatal shooting of Brian Moore, a 25-year-old police officer, changed Shea’s thinking about gun convictions. “It struck me: We can’t keep having cops put their life on the line, making gun arrest after gun arrest, and nothing happens,” he says.
Knowing firsthand how difficult it can be to get witnesses to talk in shooting cases, Shea reminds cops to use all new technology at their disposal, including cameras, phones, electronic footprints and DNA testing.
Although Shea is a big-picture thinker, he can also zoom way in, recalling stats, dates and details with Rain Man-like accuracy. He’ll remember, for example, the street intersection of a particular shooting, and that the suspect was wearing a gray hoodie and that there was surveillance video from the fire escape.
“His understanding of the many complex issues that contribute to crime and disorder, as well as the most effective strategies for dealing with these issues, is as good as it gets in policing
‘I love catching criminals’
“I think people take for granted the crime declines,” says Shea, who does not.
Department officials credit Shea with specific policy and procedural changes that have helped chip away at crime: Guns are now routinely swabbed for DNA. The name of every occupant in cars stopped by police are now recorded, providing useful investigative leads if that license plate pops up at a crime scene. Computer systems were overhauled to create efficiencies. The chief also keeps a “multihit list,” a log of bad actors connected to three or more shootings, and he’s made it so that every precinct has access to the intel.
One group highly critical of phased-out stop-and-frisk techniques said Shea’s focus on precision policing will help mend frayed community relations while reducing crime.
“It’s smarter, it’s legal, it’s better for everybody,” said Chris Dunn, associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Shea remains realistic, saying the work is relentless and “every day is a battle.”
So what keeps him at it? A smile washes across his face.
“I love catching criminals.”