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Former New York Police Department Commissioner Bernard Kerik, who was nicknamed "America's Cop" while leading the department through the 9/11 terrorist attacks, has died at the age of 69, the New York Post reports.
Kerik was reported to have suffered cardiac disease and died Thursday (May 29) surrounded by his family and friends at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. The New Jersey native joined the NYPD in 1986 and had served as commissioner of the Department of Correction from 1998 to 2000 before being selected as NYPD police commissioner by then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Kerik's tenure as the department's commissioner included a 63% decrease in violent crime, as well as praise for helming the response, rescue, recovery and investigation efforts for the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, which earned him national praise and the nickname "America's Cop."
"The NYPD is mourning the passing of former Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik. For nearly two decades, Kerik served and protected New Yorkers in the NYPD, including helping rebuild the city in the aftermath of 9/11. We offer our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones," the NYPD wrote on its official X account Thursday night.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a former NYPD captain and friend of Kerik for three decades, also paid tribute following news of his death.
“It was just this afternoon that I stopped by the hospital to see Bernie Kerik, my friend of nearly 30 years, before his passing,” Adams said via the New York Post. “He was a great New Yorker and American. Rest in peace, my friend.”