Ms. Sewell, 51, is walking away from a department of 36,000 uniformed officers that saw the rate of major crimes like murders and shootings fall during her tenure.
She added about 30 detectives to a sex-crimes unit that for years had been understaffed and overworked.
Now, officers, department watchdogs and community leaders are trying to figure out what comes next.
Perhaps the most daunting task will be serving a mayor — himself a former police captain — whose administration is believed to have meddled so much that Ms. Sewell felt she had to quit.
While previous commissioners said they had to deal with some level of micromanagement, they said they were typically allowed to pick their own teams and rarely had to get approval for discretionary promotions.
Persons:
Sewell, Caban, —