NEW YORK _ New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton will resign next month, he said Tuesday, ending his second stint as head of the nation's largest municipal police force.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a City Hall news conference with Bratton that he will be replaced by Chief of Department James O'Neill.
"We celebrate a transition filled with continuity, filled with shared vision," de Blasio said with Bratton standing to his right and O'Neill to his left.
He called Bratton's achievements during the past 31 months during his second stint as commissioner, "literally inestimable and extraordinary."
Bratton also served as commissioner under Mayor Rudy Giuliani from 1994 through 1996, but left amid reports that the mayor resented Bratton's high media profile.
That departure was on Bratton's mind Tuesday as he said that Giuliani had given him the key to the city, but "he didn't tell me he had already changed the locks."
"This time, I will have a key to the city," Bratton said. He said he was leaving to pursue a career opportunity that he will disclose soon.
"We will never forget or fail to honor the achievements of Bill Bratton," de Blasio said. "I am happy for the future and I'm happy for your future."
He praised O'Neill, an East Flatbush native, as a commander who would implement the mayor's vision for police and community relations. "This is the man who will achieve it, and that is very good news for the people of New York City," de Blasio said.
O'Neill said the department had sometimes "lost focus" and that the administration has been committed to changing "our posture and get on the right course" and "lowering crime but not at the expense of losing support."
First Deputy Commissioner Ben Tucker said he would stay on, and Carlos Gomez will be the new chief of department.
"I wish I had words for what this man has achieved," de Blasio said, placing his hand on Bratton's shoulder as he introduced him.
"It is now time for me to move on," Bratton said after thanking his family and "this extraordinary mayor, who has truly been a partner, a friend and a leader."
The change in command comes a week after Bratton, who began his career in 1970 as a beat cop in Boston, said he did not intend to stay into a possible second term for de Blasio and indicated he could leave before the end of 2017.
Bratton reminded reporters last week that the issue of his leaving was first broached last July. The timing of his exit was resurrected July 25 in an online story in The New York Times.
"I think well over a year ago that question was asked and I responded then, as I did in the most recent interview in the Times that I did not intend to stay into a second term," Bratton said, adding that he was confident de Blasio would win a second term in 2017.
Minutes later, de Blasio said Bratton had been doing an outstanding job and has "made clear he is not prepared to stay into a second term _ I absolutely respect that _ especially after all he has given the city over the years."
Bratton's recent remarks about how long he will stay as the city's top cop were a shift from his comments in July 2015. Then, at the age of 67, Bratton said he didn't intend on working beyond age 75 and that he "wouldn't be commissioner for six and a half years" _ a timetable that would stop his tenure short of the end of a potential de Blasio second term in 2022.
Bratton, 68, turns 69 in October.
Both men said Tuesday that they had discussed Bratton's departure in early July but did not want to make any public comments until the details of his next job were finalized.
