Next week, Police Commissioner James O'Neill will retire from the NYPD. He sat down with NY1 Criminal Justice Reporter Dean Meminger to discuss a wide range of issues, including former Mayor Bloomberg's recent apology for stop-and-frisk. This is Part 1 of that interview.

• Part 2: James O'Neill Looks Back on His Tenure as the City's Top Cop

James O'Neill has spent 37 years as a New York City officer, far more than half of his life. For the last three years, he’s been the police commissioner.

"Started as a transit cop in January, 1983,” O’Neill said in a sit down interview with NY1 inside his office at Police Headquarters. “I thought that if I made deputy inspector that would be a good thing. Even back then, but I got lucky. But I think I worked hard.”

“Never thought you would be police commissioner? Did you ever want to be?” I asked O’Neill.

“Not in a million years," he responded.

During his tenure as commissioner, serious crime has continued to go down to historically low levels, although there has been a slight uptick in murders and shootings this year. O'Neill is optimistic crime will never rise to the level it was decades ago.

"New Yorkers are not going to accept an increase in crime, especially violence. They are not," O’Neill said.

In 1990, there were more than 2,200 murders in the city. For the last two years, there were fewer than 300 each year.

O'Neill said, in recent years, neighborhood policing and precision policing have kept crime low and at the same time reduced the number of people being arrested. He said everyone deserves credit.

"I never say it's the NYPD. I say it is all of us working together. Whether it is the 8.6 million New Yorkers, whether it is our federal partners," O’Neill said.

Former Mayor Bloomberg recently apologized for stop-and-frisk. Although O'Neill wasn't commissioner under Bloomberg, he was a high-ranking officer. He said the policing tool must be used, but done constitutionally.

“Do you apologize for it?” I asked him.

“I'm going to say it was overused. What is that, 600,000 out of 8.6 million. I'm not a math major, about eight percent of people in the city were stopped,” O’Neill said.

“That is the issue, majority black and brown people,” I added.

“Black and brown neighborhoods, I fully understand that," O’Neill said.

Over the last three years, O'Neill dealt with several terrorists attacks in the city. But he's also dealt with cops killing numerous people, including those with mental illness.

"We are in the business to save lives,” O’Neill said. “That's a statement I made back in October of 2016.”

“That's when Deborah Danner was killed by a police officer,” I said.

"Yep, and we've put just about all of our patrol officers through crisis intervention training. We are working with the Department of Health and the Department of Mental Health."　

Four police officers were shot and killed during his time as commissioner. He said that has been the hardest part of the job, trying to console the families of slain cops.

"That may be a story in the paper or on TV for a couple of days, but that pain and suffering last forever. And if I'm emotional at a funeral, that's okay, I'm good with it,” O’Neill said.

The 62 year old will no longer have those sorts of pressures as he heads to a top security position with Visa.

"I have more time to see my mom, she's 88. I have more time to spend with my boys, Danny and Christopher," O’Neill said.

"Finally,” I said, “do you think you did a good job for the people of New York City?

“That's up for the people of this city to think whether or not I did a good job. I am not a legacy person. I just want them to know I tried my best."