The head of the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) sergeants union, Ed Mullins, is out after a pair of FBI raids on his home and office, ending his fiery and controversial reign.

FBI agents raided the office of the Sergeants’ Benevolent Association (SBA) where Mullins served as union president since 2002. Agents were recorded by news outlets and on social media carting away boxes of evidence after executing a search warrant on the union’s headquarters in lower Manhattan.

A second raid took place further away at Mullins’ home in Port Washington, Long Island. At present, the ousted SBA chief has not been charged with any crimes.

Neither the FBI nor the local U.S. Attorney’s office in New York have stated clearly what possible crimes Mullins was being investigated for. Local news outlets have reported that Mullins may be the subject of a federal probe into misappropriation of union funds or possible mail and wire fraud.

In a letter to members, the SBA, which represents 13,000 active and retired NYPD sergeants, stated that the allegations behind the investigation are not known to them, but it was enough for the group to seek the resignation of Mullins "given the severity of this matter and the uncertainty of its outcome.”

The SBA said that it did not believe any other members were targets of any investigation and assured them that the daily functions of the union would not be interrupted.

Mullins’ resignation brings an end to nearly two decades at the helm of New York’s second-largest union that has been characterized by a streak of bombastic rhetoric from the top. The former SBA head made a name for himself through his frequent and fiery clashes with other city officials.

During last summer’s protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Mullins said that the NYPD would be declaring “war” on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and faulted him for not standing behind police.

He drew serious scrutiny when he leaked the police report on the arrest of de Blasio’s daughter Chiara, earning him an internal investigation by the NYPD for violating police policies. A department trial for him is scheduled for Oct. 27 to determine what discipline should be meted out.

Mullins has also been criticized for incendiary tweets about Black Americans and his embrace of former President Donald Trump. He once criticized public housing in New York as “dens of crime” where “blacks will come and ambush us” and he once shared an overtly racist video via Twitter that referred to Black Americans as "monsters." He later deleted the video after receiving criticism from some within his union.

Mullins did not directly endorse Trump’s re-election in the way his Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association (PBA) counterpart Patrick Lynch did in 2020, but he did encourage people to vote for the former president in a Fox News interview last year.

He expressed no regrets for the decision, despite the deep antipathy for Trump in his home city and fears that an open endorsement would undermine community support for the NYPD.

Mullins’ foes made over the years were quick to announce their delight in his exit.

Bronx congressman Ritchie Torres, who Mullins has attacked as a “first-class [expletive],” took to Twitter after news of his resignation to lampoon him for the “first class raid from the FBI.” He continued by urging Mullins “not to let the door hit him on the way out.”

Mayor de Blasio, who has grappled with poor relations with the NYPD’s unions in both of his terms, initially chose not to comment on the FBI raids on Mullins’ home and office. After news of his resignation broke, the mayor was quick to comment.

“Ed Mullins dishonored his uniform, his city and his union more times than I can count. It was just a matter of time before his endless hatred would catch up with him,” tweeted de Blasio.

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