From the moment he was sworn in as commissioner of the NYPD in December of 2019, Dermot Shea made it his goal to reform the department he would now lead.

His plans for change were stymied by the pandemic and the demonstrations that followed the murder of George Floyd and, in some cases, the police response. 

Commissioner Shea joined In Focus for a wide-ranging interview, to talk about what lessons were learned by the department following the clashes of the summer of 2020, and how they helped prepare officers for what might have been had the Derek Chauvin verdict been different.

He also spoke to the trust that was lost between the police and the people of New York, and the work that has been done to try to regain that trust. And, he admits, there is a lot of work that still needs to be done, starting with the importance of recognizing that the killing of George Floyd did not happen in a vacuum, and that there are many deaths of Black and brown New Yorkers at the hands of police who have not been held accountable. 

He also spoke to the reforms being legislated by the City Council, including the end of qualified immunity and a stronger Civilian Complaint Review Board.