What to know about NYPD commissioner's resignation

TO SERIOUS THREAT TO INTERNATIONAL PEACE. >>> THE NATION'S LARGEST POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS A NEW LEADER TODAY AFTER NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER EDWARD -- ABRUPTLY RESIGNED YESTERDAY, LESS THAN A WEEK AFTER THEY RAIDED HIS HOME AND SEIZED HIS PHONE DUE TO AN INVESTIGATION THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR MONTHS. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. SO BEFORE WE GET INTO WHAT IS SWIRLING AROUND THE MAYOR RIGHT NOW. WE KNOW THAT THE POLICE COMMISSIONER IS TOM DONALDON WHO IS THIS GUY? >> A SOLID GUY WITH A DEEP CAREER IN LAW ENFORCEMENT. I COMES OUT OF THE FBI. HE HAS A DEEP BACKGROUND IN CHARACTERISM AND INTELLIGENCE. AS YOU SEE, THAT IS IMPORTANT TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY OF NEW YORK. NOT ONLY THAT, HE SERVED AS NEW YORK STATE'S DIRECTOR OF HOMELAND SECURITY. SO HE HAS THE POLITICAL RELATIONSHIPS IN NEW YORK'S POLITICAL LEADERSHIP THAT REALLY HELP HIM WALK INTO THE BUILDING, GO TO HIS OFFICE ON THE 14th FLOOR, SIT DOWN AND GET RIGHT TO WORK. >> THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT -- THAT DON'T LIVE IN THE NEW YORK AREA, THEY MAY NOT BE AWARE OF WHAT IS GOING ON, THAT THERE IS AN INVESTIGATION, A NUMBER OF MAYOR -- MEMBERS OF HIS ADMINISTRATION HAD PHONES SEIZED. BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IS BEING INVESTIGATED BY THE FBI. BUT THIS IS VERY CONCERNING. HOW MUCH PRESSURE IS THE NYPD AND THE MAYOR AND THE ADMINISTRATION, HOW MUCH PRESSURE ARE THEY UNDER TO GAIN THE TRUST OF NEW YORKERS, AND QUITE FRANKLY, RANK AND FILE OFFICERS? >> AS THE MAYOR GETS INTO THE POLITICAL SEASON AND GETS READY FOR NEXT YEAR AND A RACE FOR SECOND TERM, YOU CANNOT HAVE A CLOUD OVER YOUR LEADERSHIP. AS PEOPLE THAT FOLLOW POLITICS KNOW, HAVING THE SUPPORT OF POLICE IS VERY IMPORTANT TO A POLITICAL CANDIDATE AND THE LOCAL OFFICE, ESPECIALLY IN NEW YORK WHERE THE CRIME IS ON EVERYONE'S MINDS. SO WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT THE SCOPE OF THE VARIOUS FEDERAL INVESTIGATIONS ARE. AND I THINK THERE ARE FOUR NOW INTO THE MAYOR AND HIS TOP AIDES. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT HE HAS MADE THIS MOVE TO CLEAN THE TOP OF HIS LEADERSHIP. JUST TO BE CLEAR, COMMISSIONER EDWARD HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF NO WRONGDOING. HE HAS A BROTHER WHO RUNS A NIGHTCLUB PROTECTION BUSINESS. THAT SEEMS TO BE AT THE HEART OF ONE OF THE INVESTIGATIONS. SO THEY TOOK THE POLICE COMMISSIONER'S PHONE, PROBABLY LOOKING FOR COMMUNICATIONS. THAT IS WHAT HE DID A WISE THING OF STEPPING DOWN AS THE PRESSURE BUILT AND TAKEN SOME PRESSURE OFF THE MAYOR. >> HOW HAS THE NYPD FAIRED UNDER HIM? >> Reporter: THEY HAVE DONE A VERY GOOD JOB. CRIME IS DONE. WE ALWAYS HEAR ABOUT SOMEONE PUSHED IN A SUBWAY TRAIN OR A POLICE OFFICER ATTACKED BY A MIGRANT. BUT OVERALL, NEW YORK IS NOT SLIDING BACKWARD TO THE DAYS OF THE 1970s AND 1980s WHERE WE HAD 2,000 MURDERS. ROBBERY IS DOWN. MURDERS ARE DOWN. THE CITY, OVERALL, IS SAFE AND HE