Chief of dept. talks policing, perspective as Black NYPD official, S.I. in Garner aftermath Posted May 10, 2021 NYPD Chief of Department Rodney Harrison spoke to the congregation at First Central Baptist Church in Stapleton on May 2, 2021. (Staten Island Advance/Derek Alvez)Staten Island Advance Facebook Share STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The NYPD’s newly appointed chief of department comes with decades of experience in law enforcement, and a lifetime of perspective as a Black man in America. In a recent interview with the Advance/SILive.com, Chief Rodney Harrison spoke about his upbringing in the Rochdale Village section of Queens, a predominantly Black community with historical ties to the civil rights movement, as well as the future of policing and high crime rates.