NYC mayor won't say if he backs police commissioner under an investigative cloud

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams declined to say Tuesday if he remained confident in the city's police commissioner, days after federal agents seized the cellphones of the head of the police department and at least four other high-ranking mayoral deputies.

In his first news conference since the whirlwind of seizures, Adams — whose own devices were taken by FBI agents in November — acknowledged that the sudden increase in federal scrutiny had “raised a lot of questions and a lot of concerns.” He then deflected questions about whether he planned to remove the police commissioner, Edward Caban, amid a series of news reports claiming Caban is under pressure to resign.

“I have the utmost confidence in the New York City Police Department,” Adams said when asked if he remained confident in Caban's leadership, noting that if there are any changes, his administration would announce them.

Quarantining at home after testing positive for COVID-19 on Monday, Adams spoke to reporters online for more than an hour, striking a sober and cautious tone as he sidestepped questions about how many members of his administration had been contacted by federal agents or if anyone would be stripped of their duties.