Emotional Farewell to Police Chief Loved By All

Yesterday at 8:00pm Deputy Inspector John Lewis walked out of the 71st Precinct for his last time as its commanding officer, but not before a steady stream of well-wishers from the entire Crown Heights community came by to personally see him off and wish him success in his new post at the bureau of School Safety.

Inspector Lewis welcomed representatives from the Crown Heights Shomrim into his office, ‘armed’ with an ice cream cake and warm wishes. All the Sergeants who were on duty dropped in and joined the ‘farewell party,’ enjoying a piece of cake and sharing anecdotes and appreciation for the man they so respected.

As he sat there in his office, representatives from local churches, activist groups, chaplains and just regular civilians kept coming inside to thank the chief for his service and wish him well.

“’I choose to do the right thing, not the popular thing,’ was something he would often say, and it was this mantra and attitude that won him so much admiration and support,” said Mendy Hershkop, a Shomrim volunteer.

“In all the decades I have been involved in Crown Heights communal affairs, never has there been a [commanding officer] so universally liked by everyone, from all ends of the community,” another Shomrim volunteer told CrownHeights.info.

Under Inspector Lewis the precinct was an open house, and community members got the feeling that they were being heard. “Being the victim of a crime is never easy. Lewis listened and gave the feeling that he personally cared,” a community member said.