The city of Brownsville has hired Angel L. Figueroa Jr. as its new police chief. He is currently a deputy chief with the New York City Police Department and will begin work in Brownsville on Dec. 14. He succeeds Felix Sauceda, who moved out of the chief role and now serves as deputy city manager.
According to the city, Figueroa has more than 20 years of law enforcement experience with the NYPD. He is deputy chief and executive officer of Patrol Borough Manhattan South, where the city says he oversees about 2,500 personnel. Earlier, he was commanding officer of the NYPD Police Academy and served in its Professional Standards Bureau. The city says he was the first Hispanic commanding officer of the NYPD's Times Square Unit, 1st Precinct and 13th Precinct.
The city also says Figueroa is an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where he teaches police science and related subjects. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in criminal justice from the college and is bilingual in English and Spanish.