Today, the Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., made public the verdict and penalty for NYPD Inspector Howard Redmond, 58. Redmond faced charges for hampering a New York City Department of Investigation (DOI) inquiry into past Mayor Bill de Blasio’s security detail practices. He consistently hindered investigators and tampered with evidence.
Having held the top spot in Mayor de Blasio’s security team, Redmond confessed to two charges each of Tampering with Physical Evidence, Obstructing Governmental Administration in the Second Degree, and Official Misconduct. With his admission, Redmond lost his NYPD position, formally acknowledged his actions before the court, and extended an apology to the DOI. His sentence consists of a conditional release and a mandate to complete ten days of community service.
District Attorney Bragg commented, “Inspector Redmond’s actions were overt and audacious, consistently hindering the DOI’s investigative efforts. No individual’s status or position shields them from adhering to the rules of a legal investigation. We will not hesitate to take action against any public servant who believes they stand above the law. I am grateful to our prosecuting team and the DOI for their unwavering commitment and collaboration.”
Jocelyn E. Strauber, the DOI Commissioner, added, “Redmond purposely interfered with a live DOI investigation. He neglected numerous demands for his mobile device and intentionally deleted crucial text conversations. His conviction today highlights his grave misdeeds and neglect of his duties as a police officer. Redmond’s prosecution by the Manhattan District Attorney reiterates the principle that the law applies to everyone.”
As revealed in his plea, Redmond had been in charge of Mayor de Blasio’s Executive Protection Unit since January 2014. In 2019, the DOI initiated a probe into allegations of Mayor de Blasio’s security detail misuse. Despite several requests from DOI, Redmond repeatedly failed to provide requested documents, at times even asserting that no such documents existed. Moreover, he failed to ensure the veracity of his claims.
By January 2021, a more expansive request was dispatched to the NYPD for communication logs between certain security detail members and City Hall staff, including Mayor de Blasio. Redmond again did not comply.
In mid-2021, after ignoring several prompts to surrender his City-Hall-issued mobile device, Redmond finally handed it over – with several text messages conspicuously missing. Notably, he had turned on an auto-delete function that removed messages after a month, a fact he did not share.
The DOI’s scrutiny unveiled that Redmond’s phone had a substantial number of missing texts compared to other phones within the unit. A subsequent phone provided by Redmond also had data missing, further complicating matters. A deep dive revealed that Redmond had both activated an auto-deletion feature and manually purged texts.
In late 2021, after completing its investigation, the DOI handed over its findings on Redmond’s behavior to the Manhattan D.A.’s Office for potential legal action.
Assistant D.A. Samantha Dworken is leading the case, with oversight from Assistant D.A. Nick Viorst, and contributions from investigators Michael Greenwood, Alessandro Getzel, and Rivka Zimm.
