Eric Adams ran for mayor as a police reformer who cared about police accountability. So some people were surprised when his NYPD Commissioner put a killer cop in charge of the department’s sprawling patrol bureau.

John Chell was a lieutenant in the NYPD’s Brooklyn South Larceny squad when he shot and killed Ortanzso Bovell in 2008. Chell said he fired accidentally, as he fell to the ground. He was never charged in the incident and the NYPD closed its own investigation without ever interviewing him. (The NYPD suggested this is a routine practice). But in a civil suit brought by Bovell’s mother, after hearing from witnesses, ballistics experts, and Chell himself, a jury decided that, notwithstanding his testimony, Chell had, in fact, intentionally fired his gun. They awarded Bovell’s mother $2.5 million. 

Chell also racked up 10 misconduct allegations over his career, for use of force, abuse of authority, and discourtesy. But in each instance, investigators either weren’t able to definitively prove the misconduct happened or they couldn’t get the person who complained to cooperate with their investigation. He was also a named defendant in several lawsuits, including one alleging that Chell discriminated against a cop under his command because he was Nigerian. That case was dismissed.

The NYPD did not respond to Hell Gate’s request for comment for this entry.

Despite all this, Chell continued to climb the ranks, and when Jeffrey Maddrey was made chief of department in 2022, Chell was installed as chief of patrol. Since then, Chell has been one of the most visible figures in Adams’s NYPD. He has presided over a dramatic escalation in dangerous NYPD car chases. It’s an escalation that was challenged by the NYPD chief of risk management— until he was fired.

In 2023, Chell was caught on video instructing police specifically to arrest accredited journalist (and Hell Gate contributor) Stephanie Keith as she was covering a protest, telling cops to “lock her up, lock her up!“

The mayor and NYPD leadership returned from a tour of Israel over the summer of 2023 enthusiastic about making wider use of police drones. Sure enough, the NYPD use of drones is skyrocketing, from surveillance of backyard holiday parties to people exercising their constitutional right to protest, with Chell selling the proliferation of drones to the public. In the fall of 2023, Chell appeared as a guest on the radio show of legendary racist Sid Rosenberg to talk about a pro-Palestine protest in Bay Ridge, not objecting when Rosenberg described the protesters as “animals.” “There is the First Amendment we have to deal with,” he told Rosenberg, but when people resist police, “We’re gonna take care of business.”

Chell seems unbothered by the optics of questionable radio appearances. In November 2023, Brooklyn prosecutors had to drop weapons charges against Inna Vernikov, the City Council member who brought a gun to a protest, because Chell’s NYPD didn’t bother to arrest her or secure her gun on the spot. A few days later, Chell made an appearance on a radio show hosted by Vernikov’s lawyer.

In 2023 and 2024, Chell and his colleague Kaz Daughtry used their official social media accounts to scream at reporters and critics, complain about (and misidentify) a judge, and just generally complain about the police department not getting enough respect. 

Through it all, Chell was also running a “Cop Pop-Up Shop” selling items emblazoned with the seal of the NYPD Chief of Patrol, and touting it as a 501(c)(3) charity, though the IRS had no record of any such 501(c)(3). The NYPD claimed Chell’s shop was raising money to supply his office with “water, coffee, snacks, etc.” (The URL for the store is no longer working.)

The year 2024 also saw Chell embracing politics—in May of that year, he hastily canceled a scheduled in-uniform appearance at a Republican Party rally in Queens, after an outcry that such an appearance violated both the spirit and the letter of rules barring uniformed police from appearing at political events. Then in October, Chell appeared in uniform on a live Newsmax broadcast from Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, sounding triumphant. “Everything is great,” Chell said. “Great atmosphere. Everyone is peaceful. We haven’t had one incident. No protesters. This is a very energetic day.” Really, the Newsmax host prompted Chell, no protesters? Well, said Chell, the NYPD had delivered a message to prospective protesters: “Not today.”

Chell’s social accounts got a lot quieter in early 2025 after the NYPD’s inspector general issued a report concluding that Chell’s posts violated City rules, and were “discourteous, dismissive, demeaning and could have been—and were in some instances—perceived as threatening or intimidating to the individuals referenced.”

But the nasty posts seemingly did not impede his career: Chell replaced Maddrey as the NYPD’s chief of department after Maddrey resigned after a subordinate accused him of forcing her to have sex in exchange for overtime pay.

While the chief of department might have softened his tone on social media, he has had no qualms with being seen as a friend of President Donald Trump. At the beginning of June 2025, Daughtry and Chell both posted about a golf outing they had with the president in New Jersey; Daughtry said it was a “fantastic afternoon,” while Chell said he had a “good conversation with a few laughs and a great lunch…Even the wife received a call from the big guy!” The pair reportedly used their NYPD security details to travel to New Jersey, which has reportedly drawn attention from the City’s Department of Investigation. 

Chell also made numerous appearances with Dr. Phil on his podcast and his TV show, even during a joint federal and NYPD operation in the spring of 2024, when dozens of alleged gang members were arrested. (Dr. Phil also paid for some of Chell’s expenses to travel to Texas for an interview, and Chell, as well as Kaz Daughtry, were reportedly working on a reality TV show, “Behind the Badge,” with Dr. Phil, slated to run on MeritTV). 

In early October of 2025, Chell retired with a pension that will pay him $295,000/year for the rest of his life. That’s 25 percent higher than most NYPD pensions, because Chell claims he has been disabled ever since stepping into a hole on Randall’s Island in the summer of 2024. The pension is also tax-free, which may come as a relief to Chell, given that he admitted to avoiding federal taxes in 2013, and was docked 10 vacation days by the department.

So far, Chell has spent his retirement posting to social media about his exploits—going to Dallas Cowboys games, making radio appearances, and criticizing New York City councilmembers.