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NYPD Veteran Philip Banks III Named New Chief of Police

By Ben Fractenberg | March 27, 2013 6:55pm
 Philip Banks III was chosen to replace Joseph Espositio as the new Chief of Police during a ceremony on March 27, 2013 at One Police Plaza.
Philip Banks III was chosen to replace Joseph Espositio as the new Chief of Police during a ceremony on March 27, 2013 at One Police Plaza.
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NYPD

NEW YORK CITY — The NYPD named a new chief of the department Wednesday, after former chief Joseph Esposito retired following more than 44 years of service.

Philip Banks III, a 26-year veteran of the force who is currently chief of community affairs, will be promoted as the highest-ranking uniformed officer at a ceremony at police headquarters on Thursday.

“Phil Banks has proven himself time and again to be as outstanding a field commander, adept in managing police personnel and operations, as he has a consummate builder of community relations whose robust School Safety and Juvenile Justice Divisions, as well as New-Immigrant Outreach and Crime Prevention programs, flourished under his command,” Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said in a statement.

Banks joined the force in 1986 as a patrol officer in the 81st Precinct. He worked his way up the ranks, being promoted seven times before becoming a chief. He has served in the 70th, 73rd, 79th, 81st, 90th and Central Park precincts, Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, the Harbor Unit and the School Safety Division Investigations Unit.

Banks was born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and currently lives in St. Albans, Queens, with his wife and three children.

He will become the 37th person in the NYPD's history to hold the position.