Rodney K. Harrison is a retired law-enforcement executive. He rose through the New York City Police Department to chief of department and then served as police commissioner of the Suffolk County Police Department on Long Island, New York, from December 2021 to December 2023.
Case
An ICE officer fired at an SUV driving away from a Harrisburg vehicle stop. ICE says the driver rammed an ICE vehicle; PennLive reports its footage shows him driving around it. A county commissioner called for an independent investigation.
Role at the time: Former chief of department, New York City Police Department, and former Suffolk County police commissioner, quoted by CNN as a policing expert
Statement summary
Former NYPD chief of department Rodney Harrison told CNN that, given what the video shows, nobody was at risk of serious physical injury or death and he did not think deadly physical force was needed.
“Was anybody at risk of serious physical injury or death? And the answer is no ... I don’t think there’s a need for deadly physical force in that situation.”
The reference point is the officer's decision to fire. Harrison says nobody was at risk of serious injury or death and that deadly force was not needed, which rejects the shot as unnecessary rather than only disputing how the encounter is described.
Statement dates: July 18, 2026
Statement dates: July 18, 2026
Statement dates: July 18, 2026
