Former NYPD Chief Admits Giving ‘Free Pass’ to City Workers, Right Wing Allies

Thou Chell Not Tweet.

A former NYPD top official claimed that NYPD officers ignore transgressions by drivers if they’re city workers or if they happen to be listeners of right-wing radio host Sid Rosenberg, who famously called Mayor Mamdani a “Radical Islam cockroach.”

The revelation by former NYPD Chief of Department John Chell came on Wednesday after the radio provocateur Rosenberg had retweeted a post by a driver who claimed an NYPD officer let him go without “a traffic ticket” when he heard Rosenberg’s show coming out of the car radio.

“I’m gonna let you go cause you’re listening to Sid,” the person claimed the cop said.

Streetsblog Engagement Editor Emily Lipstein reposted the exchange with a gentle suggestion that punishment for vehicular crimes should not depend on a suspect’s political affiliations. That’s when Chell spewed his unhinged sexist rant:

“Emily let me clue you into something that has been a standing order for decades – No Doctors, Nurses, teachers and other city agencies. Since I was the Chief of Dept -I altered this to add , Any friend of @sidrosenberg19 was a friend of ours – free pass for Sid’s friends. I did this because I could. That’s just the way it is my precious snowflake.”

Taking Chell at his word, Lipstein asked if he was “saying it’s been NYPD policy to turn a blind eye to speeding, etc. if the driver listens to a specific radio show or is friends with a cop?” To which Chell, who rose to NYPD Chief of Patrol and Chief of Department under Mayor Eric Adams, replied, “What I’m saying is Sid for mayor #2030. Oh yeahhhhh.” (The next mayoral election is in 2029, not 2030.)

The comments are only the latest to reveal Chell’s contempt for any criticism of the NYPD. In another rant earlier this month, Chell shared his latest contempt for the current mayor while heaping praise on the approach of the former mayor.

“The mayor allowed our team to be aggressive, relentless with no apologies,” Chell posted on X on March 19. “To speak our minds and tell our story -we controlled the narrative. The weak minded @NYCCouncil was outraged but we did not care about them- we loved it. … However,under this @NYCMayor and his proxies @DSA the city is falling backwards everyday. What a shame and we are only 3 months into it. Lawless disorder is coming back. Those E-Bikes at 30 mph when they hit your elderly grandmother – don’t worry about that. Elections have consequences.”

He also criticized the lack of consequences for recidivist speeding drivers — ignoring the fact that his own NYPD-issued vehicle racked 349 speed camera tickets over three years during the Adams administration.

Chell’s career highlights the level of impunity officers have for committing crimes. The 56-year-old ex-cop has a long history of disregard for the law: In 2017, NYPD paid out $2.5 million to the family of Ortanzso Bovell, who Chell shot and killed in 2008, after a jury determined Chell “intentionally discharged” his gun at Bovell. He also used someone else’s identity to avoid paying income taxes on a basketball referee gig — one of 11 times he faced investigation by the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau, the news outlet The City reported.

While in his lofty NYPD position, Chell made a name for himself by publicly attacking journalists and palling around with President Trump. He also reportedly spearheaded the NYPD’s deadly vehicle pursuit policy, which led to more than a collision per day before NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch kiboshed it last year.

The city pays Chell a $295,000-per-year disability pension, which he inflated after hurting his foot on the job in 2024, the Daily News reported. The former NYPD second-in-command has tweeted constantly since retiring — often to attack Mayor Mamdani’s management of the city.

Rosenberg, whose post precipitated Chell’s back and forth with Lipstein, dined with Commissioner Tisch in January, shortly after Mayor Mamdani took office. He also faced criticism — and apologized — for calling the mayor a “jihadist” and “Radical Islam cockroach,” in comments widely condemned as Islamophobic.

On Wednesday, Rosenberg eventually chimed in on X himself, calling Lipstein a “talentless biased hack” in what Streetsblog can only assume was projection. (Lipstein’s stewardship of Streetsblog’s social and video operation earned a Deadline Club Award in 2025.)

“Emily. Go away. You are dumb and annoying. Go bother someone else,” Rosenberg posted.

Despite the personal nature of Rosenberg and Chell’s attacks, Lipstein took the high road.

“I care less about the personal attacks on me and ‘The Left’ than I do about an admission that the NYPD has let ‘Back the Blue’ bumper stickers dictate who gets held accountable for making the streets more dangerous,” she said. “I look forward to being less ‘annoying’ when shock jocks and retired cops with CCRB records are done getting mad about questions of responsibility and fairness.”

Admitting to giving preferential treatment, even in jest, could land Chell in legal trouble —especially given the NYPD’s documented history of doing just that when it comes to driving and parking. In 2024, the Biden administration threatened to sue the NYPD over cops’ illegal sidewalk parking, which Justice Department officials at the time suggested violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Chell wasn’t the only untethered ex- (or should we say X-) cop who attacked Lipstein and defended giving harsher punishments to liberals — another telling self-own that voiced the thinking part out loud.

“You know what Emily? So what. Giving tickets or a warning is arbitrary and is at an officer’s discretion,” @NYPDretiredHV posted. “I found that most people on the Right were pleasant police supporters vs people on the left who mostly despise us and were visibly agitated and hostile before I even told them what they did. Those were the people I almost never gave a break and if they asked me why I’m not out catching real criminals, I’d look to find something wrong with their vehicle and issue multiple summonses. My advice Emily is if you get pulled over Don’t Act Like A White Liberal Woman.”

An NYPD spokesperson, who did not provide a name, denied Chell’s claims about department policy towards city workers but declined to address Rosenberg’s comments.

“There is absolutely no policy that prevents the NYPD from issuing summonses to city employees,” the spokesperson said. “The NYPD issues summonses for violations as they are observed by officers on patrol.”