#NYPD names police commander, forensic nurse as head of Special Victims Unit

The NYPD’s Special Victim’s Unit is getting a new leader — a police commander who’s also a registered nurse specializing in forensics, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea announced Thursday.

Deputy Inspector Michael King, 45, who joined the force in September 2000, previously served as the commander of the Crime Scene Unit. Since 2017, he’s been the executive officer of the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force.

“Reaching this position in the NYPD has been a dream job for me since I became a forensic nurse in 2009,” King said in a press release. “I thought that if I could one day be the commanding officer of the Special Victims Unit it would give me the platform I needed in my fight for victims’ rights and in the pursuit of justice and integrity of special victims’ investigations.”

Assistant Chief Judith Harrison had held the position until she became Borough Commander of Brooklyn North, overseeing 10 precincts.

King will serve directly under Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison.

“I am thrilled to welcome Deputy Inspector King to the Detective Bureau’s leadership team,” said Rodney Harrison, no relation to Judith. “This appointment represents a critical continuation of Assistant Chief Judith Harrison’s work in overseeing several integral reforms to improve the Special Victims Unit. Our Special Victims Unit is victim-centered, with a relentless focus on bringing justice to brave survivors. Throughout his NYPD career, Deputy Inspector King has been a relentless investigator whose integrity is reflected in his passion for representing all New Yorkers, in every neighborhood, on every case. I look forward to seeing him at work in this important new assignment.”

King was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and came to New York in 1991, after completing high school. He joined the NYPD on September 29, 2000, and began his career on patrol in the 113th Precinct. He served in several other precincts and held a variety of leadership roles.

He earned a nursing degree from American Sentinel University and became a registered nurse in January 2005.

The most recent NYPD crime data shows that rape was down 22 percent for the month of August, but the crime is frequently under-reported, police have noted.