Bernie Kerik dead: Former NYPD commissioner was 69, leaves behind complicated legacy
Bernard Kerik, the New York City police commissioner during the September 11 attacks who later pleaded guilty to tax fraud before receiving a presidential pardon, has died at age 69.
The New York Police Department confirmed his death on Thursday via social media. FBI Director Kash Patel stated that Kerik passed away following a private battle with illness.
The NYPD is mourning the passing of former Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik.
For nearly two decades, Kerik served and protected New Yorkers in the NYPD, including helping rebuild the city in the aftermath of 9/11.
We offer our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. pic.twitter.com/DG4EuFVloN — NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) May 30, 2025
Kerik, an Army veteran, gained national recognition for his leadership during the 9/11 attacks. He was appointed police commissioner by then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani in 2000 and held the position during one of the city's darkest hours.
Giuliani reflected on their long friendship during a televised appearance, describing Kerik as 'like my brother' and saying, 'I was a better man for having known Bernie. I certainly was a braver and stronger man.'
Kerik's career was marked by both high praise and controversy.
In 2010, he pleaded guilty to federal charges of tax fraud and making false statements. The charges related in part to receiving over $250,000 in apartment renovations from a construction firm alleged to have ties to organised crime.
The sentencing judge highlighted that some crimes occurred while Kerik was the 'chief law enforcement officer for the biggest and grandest city this nation has.'
He served three years in federal prison and was released in 2013. In 2020, President Donald Trump granted Kerik a full pardon.
After his release from prison, Kerik continued his work in crisis management and remained involved in political efforts, including supporting attempts to challenge the 2020 US presidential election results.
Kerik recounted his experience during 9/11 in his 2015 book, From Jailer to Jailed, describing the day as one he wished had never happened but saying he did 'the best [he] could do under the circumstances.'
His death marks the end of a turbulent but impactful career in law enforcement and public service.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
4 hours ago
- Express Tribune
'Flamethrower' attacker facing US federal hate charges
The man suspected of a Molotov cocktail attack on Jewish protesters in Colorado was facing federal hate crime charges on Monday, with the government saying he was in the United States illegally. Mohamed Sabry Soliman is alleged to have thrown Molotov cocktails and sprayed burning gasoline in Boulder on Sunday at a gathering in support of Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Eight people were hurt in the attack -- four men and four women -- with the oldest reportedly being 88 years old. FBI agent Mark Michalek said the suspect used "a makeshift flamethrower" and "was heard to yell: 'Free Palestine,'" during the incident. An FBI affidavit said Soliman had been planning the assault for a year. "He stated that he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead," the affidavit says. "He hated this group and needed to stop them from taking over 'our land,' which he explained to be Palestine." Agents said they had found at least 14 unused Molotov cocktails and a backpack weed sprayer containing gasoline. US Homeland Security officials said he was in the country illegally, having overstayed a tourist visa, but that he had applied for asylum in September 2022. President Donald Trump lashed out at his predecessor, Joe Biden, over the incident. "Yesterday's horrific attack in Boulder, Colorado, WILL NOT BE TOLERATED in the United States of America," Trump said on his Truth Social network, describing it as a "terrible tragedy." He blamed "Biden's ridiculous Open Border Policy" for allowing Soliman into the country. "This is yet another example of why we must keep our Borders SECURE, and deport Illegal, Anti-American Radicals from our Homeland," he wrote. The attack occurred on Sunday afternoon during a regular demonstration in support of hostages taken in the assault on Israel by Hamas gunmen on October 7, 2023. In one video that purportedly shows the attack, a shirtless man holding bottles in his hands is seen pacing as the grass in front of him burns. He can be heard screaming "End Zionists!" and "They are killers!" towards several people in red T-shirts as they tend to a person lying on the ground. AFP
Business Recorder
18 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Man attacks Colorado crowd with firebombs, 8 people injured
BOULDER, COLORADO: Eight people were injured on Sunday when a 45-year-old man yelled 'Free Palestine' and threw incendiary devices into a crowd in Boulder, Colorado where a demonstration to remember the Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza was taking place, authorities said. Four women and four men between 52 and 88 years old were transported to hospitals, Boulder police said. Authorities had earlier put the count of the injured at six and said at least one of them was in a critical condition. 'As a result of these preliminary facts, it is clear that this is a targeted act of violence and the FBI is investigating this as an act of terrorism,' the FBI special agent in charge of the Denver Field Office, Mark Michalek, said. Michalek named the suspect as Mohamed Soliman, who was hospitalized shortly after the attack. Reuters could not immediately locate contact information for him or his family. FBI Director Kash Patel also described the incident as a 'targeted terror attack,' and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said it appeared to be 'a hate crime given the group that was targeted.' Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said he did not believe anyone else was involved. 'We're fairly confident we have the lone suspect in custody,' he said. The attack took place on the Pearl Street Mall, a popular pedestrian shopping district in the shadow of the University of Colorado, during an event organized by Run for Their Lives, an organization devoted to drawing attention to the hostages seized in the aftermath of Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel. In a statement, the group said the walks have been held every week since then for the hostages, 'without any violent incidents until today.' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the victims were attacked 'simply because they were Jews' and that he trusted U.S. authorities would prosecute 'the cold blood perpetrator to the fullest extent of the law'. 'The antisemitic attacks around the world are a direct result of blood libels against the Jewish state and people, and this must be stopped,' he said. The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the United States over Israel's war in Gaza, which has spurred both an increase in antisemitic hate crime as well as moves by conservative supporters of Israel, led by President Donald Trump, to brand pro-Palestinian protests as antisemitic. His administration has detained protesters of the war without charge and cut off funding to elite U.S. universities that have permitted such demonstrations. In a post to X, a social network, Trump's deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said Soliman had overstayed his visa and been allowed to work by the previous administration. He said it was further evidence of the need to 'fully reverse' what he described as 'suicidal migration.' Reuters was not able to independently verify the suspect's immigration status. When asked about Soliman, the Department of Homeland Security said more information would be provided as it became available. Victims burned Brooke Coffman, a 19-year-old at the University of Colorado who witnessed the Boulder incident, said she saw four women lying or sitting on the ground with burns on their legs. One of them appeared to have been badly burned on most of her body and had been wrapped in a flag by someone, she said. She described seeing a man whom she presumed to be the attacker standing in the courtyard shirtless, holding a glass bottle of clear liquid and shouting. 'Everybody is yelling, 'get water, get water,'' Coffman said. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a prominent Jewish Democrat, said it was an antisemitic attack. 'This is horrifying, and this cannot continue. We must stand up to antisemitism,' he said on X. The attack follows last month's arrest of a Chicago-born man in the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington, D.C. Someone opened fire on a group of people leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group that fights antisemitism and supports Israel. The shooting fueled polarization in the United States over the war in Gaza between supporters of Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Colorado Governor Jared Polis posted on social media that it was 'unfathomable that the Jewish community is facing another terror attack here in Boulder.'
Express Tribune
19 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Six injured in flamethrower attack at Colorado rally for Israeli captives
Listen to article At least six people were injured after a man allegedly used a makeshift flamethrower in an attack on a pro-IIsrael rally in Boulder, Colorado, on Sunday, Authorities said the incident is being investigated as a potential terror attack and confirmed that the suspect, identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, has been taken into custody. READ MORE: Two Israeli embassy staffers shot dead in Washington The incident occurred in the early afternoon on Pearl Street Mall, a popular shopping and pedestrian area, where members of the volunteer group Run For Their Lives had gathered. According to Mark Michalek, a special agent with the FBI, Soliman shouted 'Free Palestine' before igniting the device. Witnesses and local reports indicated that he may have used Molotov cocktails or a similar incendiary setup, resulting in a burst of flames engulfing multiple victims. Police confirmed the six victims were aged between 67 and 88 years old, all participants in the rally. Two of the wounded were airlifted to nearby hospitals with serious burn injuries, while the remaining were treated on site or at local facilities. Eyewitness Brooke Coffman, 19, a University of Colorado student, said she saw at least four women on the ground with burns. 'One woman looked burned all over and someone had wrapped her in a flag,' she said. 'Everybody was yelling, 'Get water, get water!' There was panic,' she added. The suspect was also injured and transported to hospital. Authorities have not yet detailed the extent of his injuries or whether he has legal representation. Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn urged the public to avoid speculation while interviews with witnesses continued. 'It would be irresponsible to assume motive while our investigation is still ongoing,' he said. 'This was a peaceful gathering, and the injuries are consistent with them having been set on fire.' 'This was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in downtown Boulder on Pearl Street, and this act was unacceptable,' Redfearn added. 'I ask that you join me in thinking about the victims, the families of those victims, and everyone involved in this tragedy.' Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, said he was closely monitoring the investigation and condemned the incident. 'Hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable,' Polis said in a statement. The incident comes amid a period of heightened polarisation in the United States over the ongoing war on Gaza. The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the United States over Israel's war on Gaza, President Donald Trump, have sought to characterise pro-Palestinian demonstrations as antisemitic. READ: Israel approves 22 new settlements in West Bank His administration has been accused of detaining anti-war protesters without charge and withholding federal funding from elite universities that have allowed such protests on campus. Sunday's rally was one of a series of weekly events organised by Run For Their Lives, a volunteer group advocating for the release of Israeli captives. Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, DC, said locals identified the suspect as carrying two glass bottles believed to contain petrol. 'He appeared shirtless, shouting in the crowd, and threw what people believe were petrol bombs,' Fisher said. The Jewish community in Boulder issued a joint statement condemning the assault. 'We are saddened and heartbroken to learn that an incendiary device was thrown at walkers at the Run for Their Lives walk on Pearl Street as they were raising awareness for the hostages still held in Gaza,' the statement said. 'We stand in solidarity with those injured and their families.' No formal charges have yet been announced, but federal officials have vowed to prosecute the suspect to the full extent of the law. The FBI, local police and counterterrorism units are continuing their investigation. READ MORE: 31 dead in Israeli gunfire near aid site Israel's war on Gaza The total death toll from Israel's war on Gaza has risen to 54,418 killed and 124,190 injured since October 7, 2023, the ministry said, Al Jazeera reported. Israel has killed 4,149 Palestinians and injured 12,149 since breaking two-month-old ceasefire on March 18 this year. Israel's atrocities have displaced around 90% of Gaza's estimated 2 million residents, created a severe hunger crisis, and caused widespread destruction across the territory. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
