Bratton Says He Won't Remain NYPD Commissioner Past 2017
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Bill Bratton said he will not remain commissioner of the New York Police Department past 2017.
The New York Times, which interviewed Bratton, reports he also left open the possibility that he could leave even sooner.
The 68-year-old commissioner says he's "still young enough'' to take on "additional challenges.''
"Life is full of challenges and I'm still young enough to basically have additional challenges," Bratton told the New York Times. "And when I think I've got things where I want them to be, then that's basically the time to move on."
The timing will be based on personal and professional factors.
"There's never a good time to leave something that you love doing, but there's a right time," Bratton said. "When I find that right time, after a consultation with the mayor, I'll decide to go."
Bratton said he's already created a line of succession, however he did not name a specific person who would take his place in the event of his departure from the force.
There has been speculation Chief of Department James O'Neill may be appointed, but O'Neill would only say he wants to continue serving the city, WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported.
Bratton is in his second stint as commissioner in New York. He led the department for more than two years in the mid-1990s and began serving as Mayor Bill de Blasio's police commissioner in January 2014.
De Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips calls the news "very much expected'' after Bratton's 45-plus years of service. Phillips says that whenever Bratton departs, he will leave behind "an unparalleled legacy of distinction.''
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