View Photos of Newly Sworn-In MTA Police Chief Mueller
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) swore in this afternoon John Mueller as the sixth Chief of the MTA Police Department.
Chief Mueller comes to the MTA following 28 years of service at the Yonkers Police Department. Mueller will oversee the more than 1,000-member MTA Police Department that is responsible for patrolling and securing the MTA’s operating region that stretches from Montauk to Poughkeepsie.
A transcript of remarks at the ceremony appears below.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber: We are blessed, after a pretty extensive search process, to have found someone who is not only an incredibly distinguished law enforcement professional, but who comes from the MTA region, who has led the police force for the second largest city in our MTA region, and who knows the commuter railroads. So it's a trifecta of incredible talent and qualification and track record, which was made clear to me by folks in all aspects of the Yonkers community, who had worked with Chief Mueller over time, and who had amazing things to say about your creativity, your ability to work with all different kinds of communities, and also your focus on results, and building a sense of safety, and frankly, a community sense of investment in the police force. It's no secret that we have some significant challenges in front of us. The safety of the MTA system, of mass transit in general, and of the city and the region is one of the factors that is going to determine how we come back from the pandemic. So, we are thrilled to be able to welcome you as our new police chief to set a new path for our MTAPD at this crucial moment in the MTA’s history and in the region's history. Welcome. Thank you.
Incoming Chief of MTA Police John Mueller: Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. This is a great day for me and a great day for my family, and I'm thrilled to be part of the new MTA family. And as the Chairman said, in my many conversations with Mr. [Pat] Warren, the name of the game in policing today is having people feel secure while you're keeping them safe. And it's something that can be done, and I'm going to make a prediction right now -- I'm going to tell you this, and this is a national prediction. We are coming into a golden age in policing, we really are. Because we've learned, we've turned the corner, we always understand how to lower crime, we always understood how to address quality of life. But there were times in some of our methodologies where we did not treat communities with respect and appropriately, and that kind of affected us and our interaction with the community. You can do both. And in the last few years of everything that has gone on, we have learned how to walk that line -- I call it like a policing state of grace. And I'm going to do everything I can to work with the team here, the resources that are available, and I just can't wait to get started, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity. Thank you.