Isa Abbassi

Isa M. Abbassi (born c. 1973) is an American law enforcement officer who has served in various leadership roles within the New York CitNew York Police Department (NYPD) including as the agency’s chief strategy officer. In March of 2023 Abbassi was named Officer in Charge of the Paterson New Jersey police department after police shot and killed a community activist experiencing a mental health crisis.
==Career==
===New York City Police Department===
Abbassi began his policing career in 1997 when he was sworn in as a Police Officer for the NYPD. Abbassi held several positions in the NYPD, including positions in the patrol bureau, the detective bureau, and the special operations division as a helicopter pilot. As an executive in the NYPD, Abbassi served in various leadership roles, including as commanding officer of the 77th Precinct in Crown Heights Brooklyn and the 120th Precinct in Staten Island. In Brooklyn, Abbassi is heralded for having “done great things with the community while reducing crime and violence.”
Abbassi is credited with improving community relations in Staten Island for the NYPD following the police killing of Eric Garner in 2014.
Abbassi was assigned as the commanding officer of the Office of Collaborative Policing, where he pioneered initiatives designed to foster collaboration between the NYPD and community based organizations. Abbassi went on to serve as the executive officer of the Patrol Services Bureau and as Executive Officer to the Chief of the Department 
, where he coordinated the resources of various operational bureaus, including the deployment of over 30,000 sworn members.
Upon his promotion to Chief of Strategic Initiatives in 2022, Abbassi was tasked with spearheading the NYPD’s long-term transformation efforts. In this role, he served as the senior policy and strategy officer for the agency, overseeing policy reforms and integrating innovative technologies and solutions into the Department’s operations. His work culminated in the development of the 2023 Strategic Plan which aimed to modernize the NYPD, improve community relations, and enhance crime reduction strategies through data analysis and cutting- edge technologies.
===Paterson Police Department===
In March of 2023 the New Jersey Attorney General took control of the Paterson NJ police department after police shot and killed Najee Seabrooks, a community activist experiencing a mental health crisis who had called 911 for help. The killing sparked protests and calls for a federal investigation of the department.
The attorney general appointed Isa Abbassi, formerly the New York Police Department’s chief of strategic initiatives to develop a plan for how to win back public trust in a department already beset by allegations of police misconduct and federal civil rights violations.
The PPD NEXTGEN plan has achieved encouraging results with significant reductions in violent crime data, efficient progress on completing plan initiatives as well as changing perceptions in the community about police.
===NJ Police Training===
New Jersey lawmakers, acknowledging Abbassi’s leadership experience, advanced legislation that would allow Abbassi to bypass certain state training requirements. The bill was unanimously advanced by the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee. A sponsor of the legislation, Assemblyman, Benjie Wimberly, stated Abbassi came to Paterson with strong qualifications from his experience in New York. Requiring Abbassi to go through standard police training would divert him from his work. Wimberly said Abbassi’s leadership will have a long lasting impact on the Paterson Police Department.
Category:1973 births
Category:American law enforcement officials
Category:Leadership