Committed Precinct
Commander promoted

In only 20 years, Charles McEvoy has risen through the ranks – from the Police Academy to Sergeant to Lieutenant to Captain – and, as of Wednesday, August 5, Deputy Inspector.
As Commanding Officer of the 102nd Precinct – his first assignment in Queens — McEvoy, 41, who is at once a humble and committed crime fighter, has led the charge to a more than 15 percent reduction in crime year-to-date, and the trend is continuing.
But he does not take the credit.
“I consider it a privilege to be Commanding Officer of the 102nd Precinct,” said the married father of two. “I’m thrilled to be here and work with the hard-working men and women of the precinct who do a phenomenal job day in and day out. They sincerely care, and they are making the difference.”
McEvoy began his upward trajectory with his graduation from the Police Academy in December of 1989. He was the first in his family to become a cop.
“I was always intrigued by police work,” he said.
He spent nearly a year at Field Training Unit 10 in Brooklyn before being assigned to midnight patrol in the 70th Precinct. He then went into the precinct’s plain-clothes anti-crime unit, where he made a “significant number of arrests.”
In November of 1994, McEvoy was transferred to the Manhattan South Narcotics Unit, where, he recalled, “not only did we do routine buy-and-bust operations, but we investigated narcotics complaints.”
McEvoy himself helped take down three major drug cases.
In June of 1996, he was promoted to Detective, and by July 1997, he made Sergeant and was assigned to the 67th Precinct in East Flatbush, Brooklyn; two years later he was transferred to the Internal Affairs Bureau; a year after that he made Lieutenant and was assigned to the 73rd Precinct in Brooklyn, where he soon became Platoon Commander.
His next assignment was Patrol Borough Brooklyn North.
On September 11, 2001 – the day that changed the nation and perhaps the world – McEvoy remembers being home with his six-month-old daughter.
“I was immediately called to work” and assigned to the Brooklyn side of the Manhattan Bridge, he told The Courier.
That first day, he said, he worked 24 hours straight, followed by 12-hour shifts at the site itself.
“Words cannot express what I saw, the devastation. I was dumbfounded by the whole thing. It was a tough time,” McEvoy said.
In 2005, McEvoy was promoted to Captain; at the time he was with the 79th Precinct in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
“I was very fortunate to work under two very knowledgeable precinct commanders,” he said of his time there. “They taught me a tremendous amount of executive policing.”
Ever hands-on in his approach to the job, McEvoy ran four phases of Operation Impact within the precinct, much to the relief of area merchants and residents, as quality of life improved and crime decreased.
“All the feedback from the merchants in the [Fulton Street] business district was gratifying,” said McEvoy.
On January 2, 2008, he joined the 102nd Precinct as Commanding Officer.
“It was the first time I ever worked in Queens,” he noted. “I was very fortunate when I replaced Inspector Paul Piekarski. He was a true leader, and the command ran extremely well.”
He continued, “I was very fortunate – the Lieutenants and Sergeants did – and do – a fabulous job.”
McEvoy is extremely community-oriented, working in excess of 40 hours per week and attending many civic and business meetings personally so that he has his finger on the pulse of the precinct.
To that end, he says quality of life issues such as graffiti and noise are some of the complaints he receives.
“I really want to continue to improve the quality of life for all residents and merchants in the 102,” he told The Courier. “We’ve done a great job, but there’s still more to do. Whatever issues the community has, I make them top priority and do whatever it takes to get them resolved.”
The community, for its part, is grateful.
“I think he [McEvoy] is doing an excellent job,” said Maria Thomson, Executive Director of the Woodhaven BID. “His promotion is very much deserved. He is extremely receptive and addresses any problems and complaints immediately.”
Calling the men and women of the precinct “committed and concerned,” Thomson continued, “Leadership sets the tone, and McEvoy has set a high level of response and commitment and they have followed suit.”
McEvoy’s success, he says, comes from the great officers in his command – and his wife of 16 years, Patti.
“She supports me in everything I do and encourages me.”
Of the promotion ceremony at One Police Plaza, McEvoy said, “I was very humbled by it, but thrilled. I will continue to work just as hard as I did when I was first appointed.”