Deputy Commissioner Wilbur L. Chapman

Biography    

Deputy Commissioner Chapman’s long and distinguished career in public service uniquely qualifies him to head the Training Bureau.  His depth of experience in conventional crime fighting and community relations is key to the Department’s recruiting, educating and training of a diverse group  of qualified police recruits.

Commissioner Chapman served three decades with the New York City Police Department, culminating with his position as Chief of Patrol.  He later went on to be Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation and has most recently served as Bridgeport, Connecticut’s Chief of Police.

The Commissioner was appointed to  the New York City Police Department in March of 1968 and began his career on patrol in Manhattan’s 23rd Precinct in East Harlem.  as a Sergeant, he served as a patrol supervisor in the 26th Precinct in Manhattan.

Commissioner Chapman rose through the ranks and upon being promoted to Deputy Inspector, he served as the Executive Officer in the Police Commissioner’s Office and then as the Commanding Officer of the 81st and 113th Precincts.

He was promoted to Inspector in May 1991, and  was assigned to  command the 12th Division of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, where his responsibilities included delivery of police services in the four Brooklyn precincts serving Crown Heights, Canarsie, Marine Park and East Flatbush.  The following year, he was transfered to the  Department’s Recruitment Section and Applicant Processing Division, where he served as the commanding officer and was credited with promulgating the most diverse list of qualified police applicants in the Department’s history until that time.

Commissioner Chapman served as the Executive Officer of Patrol Borough Queens from November 1993 to June 1994, and then as Commanding Officer of Patrol Borough, Manhattan North, from June 1994 to January 1995.  He served as Chief of Patrol from January of 1995 to June 1998.  His duties included command of all uniformed and civilian personnel assigned to Patrol Services, Special Operations Division and the Resource Management Section.  He was appointed Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation in June of 1998.  In August of 2000, he left to serve as the Chief of Police of Bridgeport, CT until January of 2005.

Commissioner Chapman studied at the Pratt Institute School of Architecture from 1964 to 1968, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from Manhattan College and is a graduate of the Police Management Institute at Columbia University.  Born  in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn and raised in Springfield Gardens, Queens, Commissioner Chapman graduated from Newton High School in Elmhurst. He has two daughters, Leslie and Lisa, and has been an avid Jazz musician for over 40 years.