Albert Seedman

Chief of Detectives Albert Seedman
Seedman speaking to the media in 1971
Born	(1918-08-09)August 9, 1918 Bronx, NY, U.S.
Died	May 17, 2013(2013-05-17) (aged 94) Delray Beach, FL, U.S.
Alma mater	Baruch College
Awards	Chevalier of the Legion d'honneur
Police career
Current status	Deceased
Department	New York City Police Department
Allegiance	U.S.
Country	U.S. Army
Years of service	30
Rank	Captain, Detective, Chief Detective for South Brooklyn, Chief of Detectives
Other work	Chief of Security for Alexander's department-store chain; wrote memoir, Chief!

Albert A. Seedman, (August 9, 1918 – May 17, 2013), was an officer with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for 30 years. At the end of his career he was the department's chief of detectives, the only Jewish officer to ever hold that position. After his retirement he was the chief of security for a New York area department store chain before retiring to South Florida.

Seedman established himself as a detective during the 1960s. As the detective commander for Brooklyn, he once oversaw an investigation of a shooting death, in which over 2,000 people were interviewed, that turned out to have been a freak accident. He investigated many prominent crimes during that era, including the Borough Park Tobacco robbery and the Kitty Genovese murder. As the chief of detective he reformed that branch by assigning detectives to specialize in certain areas of crime rather than just investigating whatever cases came their way when they were on shift. His tenure as chief of detectives of the city was short but memorable, marked by the Knapp Commission's corruption investigations which briefly cost him his job, several mob hits and terror attacks carried out by the Black Liberation Army (BLA). When his superior officers hindered his investigation into the murder of an officer at a Harlem mosque out of fear of a race riot, Seedman resigned his position and retired from the force, although he did not say that had been the reason for another 40 years.

Frequently and accurately described as "cigar-chomping" and "tough-talking", with a personal style likened by a colleague to a Jewish gangster, he was one of the city's most visible police personnel during the turbulent 1960s and early 1970s. Newspaper photographers and television cameras carried many images of, and quotes by, him. He was always willing to speak to reporters even if he could not tell them much. After his retirement he wrote Chief!, a memoir of his time on the force and high-profile cases, and appeared as a detective in the 1975 film Report to the Commissioner.