New York cops love to pose for pictures with tourists. It is one of the originalities regarding the usual discretion of law and order agents.

It’s a big stage, so whether it’s in Times Square, the Brooklyn Bridge or the 9/11 memorial, there’s always someone in uniform from the NYPD (New York Police Department) ready to put a smile on their, generally, petrified faces. If they wore a tricorne like the Civil Guard some time ago, the three-pointed hat would be the topic of the moment on social networks.

This is the friendly face of the body – there is also a very dark side –, at the command of which a Hispanic has just arrived after 177 years of existence of the institution. Edward Caban, 55, married and the father of two teenagers, took the oath of office at 40 South Bronx, the barracks where he began his career in 1991, the neighborhood where he grew up, when it was still burning, as the son of a Puerto Rican who served as an agent and detective in the city’s traffic department.

“Police officer Eddie Caban would not be able to enter the 40th precinct, look at the leadership photos hanging on the wall and imagine the future if it wasn’t for his father’s push to climb the ladder,” he said. Juan, his father, was by his side. And he remembered: “He told me to take the exam, ‘promotions will give you a seat at the table'”, he added to the flattering evocation of the father figure.

He is the one chosen by Mayor Eric Adams, ex-policeman, to continue making history. When he took the baton, the first person to whom he entrusted the position was a woman, which was already a pioneer, and an African American, even more so. But Keechant Sewell suddenly tendered his resignation in June. They explain that Sewell was disillusioned by the frustration generated by the meddling of the mayor, who many times seems to have not yet taken off his uniform.

Caban, the NYPD’s 46th commissioner, will have to contend with such interference to manage a force of 36,000 officers and 19,000 civilian employees, the largest police force in the United States. “The commissioner should not have a debt with a mayor who makes the enormous role in the department a political presentation card”, emphasized a retired Hispanic agent.

Adams and Caban maintain a close relationship, and it should not be forgotten that Adams needs the support of Hispanics for re-election in 2025. Hispanics are the second largest demographic group in the Big Apple, with 2.5 million residents, 28% of the population, second only to non-Hispanic whites. The most numerous group is that of Dominican origin, above Puerto Ricans, who are recognized as citizens of the United States. Then, according to the 2021 census, come the Mexicans, Ecuadorians and Colombians.

The demographic factor has also been reflected in the composition of the police force. In 1957 there were only 40 Hispanic officers in the NYPD. Recruitment accelerated, in parallel with the increase in the demographic sector, and today they are the second largest group after the white uniformed.

Despite the increase in racial diversity, it should not be forgotten that the friendly face of tourist photos has a flip side, that of a body that is much less accommodating to citizens, especially those who are singled out by skin color or facial features. Caban lived as an agent during the period of the top and frisk (arrest and search), which was instituted by Mayor Rudy Giuliani and continued by Michael Bloomberg, until it was declared unconstitutional. The arrests had one thing in common, more than 95% were black or Hispanic. In fact, Caban has two blemishes, one for refusing in 1997 to name two police officers who insulted a woman and another in 2006, when the disciplinary board determined he abused his power as captain when he arrested a man who refused to identify himself.

The arrival of Adams, in the midst of psychosis due to the increase in crimes in the post-pandemic, caused criticism to re-emerge for the disproportionate arrests of the usual suspects: blacks and Hispanics. Activists have already petitioned Caban not to treat the homeless as criminals.