James P. O'Neill

Early life and education O'Neill was born to an Irish American family, the fourth of seven children, to Helen and Joseph O'Neill. He was raised in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and a Master of Public Administration degree from John Jay College in New York City.

Career O'Neill joined the New York City Transit Police in 1983 and began his career as a patrolman in Transit District 1. He was promoted to Sergeant in September 1987 and to Lieutenant in April 1991. In 1995, the transit police were merged into the NYPD. In 1997, he was promoted to Captain. Additional promotions were to Deputy Inspector in December 2001, to Inspector in August 2003, and to Deputy Chief in October 2005. On June 2, 2014, O'Neill was promoted to Chief of Patrol. Several months later, in November 2014, he was promoted to Chief of Department. In September 2016, he became police commissioner. On November 4, 2019, O'Neill resigned his post as Police Commissioner (effective early December 2019) and was replaced by former Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea.

Promotion to Chief of Department On October 28, 2014, O'Neill became the Chief of Department for the NYPD's 36,000 uniformed officers, the highest-ranking uniformed position.

Police commissioner On August 2, 2016, O'Neill was appointed Police Commissioner of New York City by Mayor Bill de Blasio, effective September 2016. O'Neill was succeeded as Chief of Department by Carlos M. Gomez. On November 4, 2019, O'Neill announced his retirement as commissioner, and was replaced by former Chief of Detectives Dermot F. Shea at month-end.

Vapor wake canines O'Neill widely deployed vapor wake canines in the city. The dogs alert their handlers to the presence of explosives and track the scent to potential bombers.