Reflection of my 11 1/2 years as the Chief of Brooklyn South, NYPD

Good afternoon everyone. Today is my 20 year anniversary becoming the Chief of Brooklyn South. Thank you Commissioner Howard Safir for having the faith to put me there. I loved working with all of the communities and I cherish the friendships I still have with so many. I'm so appreciative of all of the members of the NYPD who spent part of their careers with me during my 11 1/2 years.

It was such an honor to witness the professional and personal growth of some of the greatest cops and detectives in policing. I got to watch supervisors excel through the ranks and become some of the greatest leaders I've known. Together we not only served our communities, but we helped each other grow, and we built something very special that none of us will ever forget.

I will always be so appreciative of how so many were there for me in my moments of need, like the death of my nephew, FF Michael Roberts, on September 11th and the passing of my Mom in 2011. I spent a while today going through all of my photos taken during those years and it was quite a profound experience. It took me back to all of the happiness, pride, and excitement. However, those wonderful experiences were laced with some of the most painful moments of my life. As I'm writing this I am thinking, I guess that's what our life experience is all about. As John Lennon wrote in the song "Across the Universe," "Pools of sorrow, waves of joy, possessing and caressing me, across the universe."

And my heart will never lose the scars left by the pain of the 7 heroes who were taken from us under my watch - David Regan (5/28/2000), Bobby Parker and Pat Rafferty (9/10/04), Willie Rivera (11/24/04), Dillon Stewart (11/28/05), Francis Hennessy (1/10/06) and Russel Timoshenko (7/14/07). I will never forget them and I will always honor them and love them.

Thank you, everyone, and I wish us all more waves of joy than pools of sorrow.