The NYPD on Wednesday afternoon named the first African American chief of detectives in department history.

• NYPD's Highest-Ranking Black Official Says He's 'Disappointed' to Be Passed Over for Police Commissioner

In his first major appointments, new Police Commissioner Dermot Shea named Chief of Patrol Rodney Harrison to his old job.

The NYPD credits Harrison as integral in the rollout of "Neighborhood Policing" throughout the city. He began his time with the NYPD as a police cadet in 1991.

Chief Fausto Pichardo, the current executive officer in the Patrol Services Bureau, will step into Harrison's role as chief of patrol. Pichardo has been with the department since 1997.

• Critics Take Aim at De Blasio for Lack of Diversity in Choice of New Commissioner

The appointments come after Mayor Bill de Blasio was criticized for choosing Shea, a white man, to be the new commissioner instead of giving the top job to a person of color. De Blasio passed over First Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Tucker, the highest-ranking black official in the NYPD, when choosing Shea last month, and in 2016 when he appointed James O'Neill police commissioner.