Rodney Harrison, who made history this past week when he was appointed NYPD chief of detectives—the first black person assigned to that role—said he never aspired to be a cop as a kid in Jamaica, Queens.

“Actually, I had negative interactions with police officers growing up,” Chief Harrison said in his first interview since getting the prestigious promotion.

When asked to explain what happened, Harrison responded, “I’ve been what I believe is unnecessarily stopped. Pulled over and my vehicle searched. Frisked. Now, we have neighborhood policing.”

Harrison, the father of three daughters and married to a former NYPD Lieutenant, said he changed his mind about policing after joining the department’s cadet program in the early 1990s.

“Once I tried the cadet corps, an internship which helps pay for your college tuition, I saw some of the great work that NYPD does and how they give back," he said.

Raised in Rochdale Village by Carl and Dee Harrison, the chief talked about his dangerous assignments and said, “I’m an only child, so it’s something my mother gets a little nervous about. But she’s told me she’s very proud of me.”

“Some of my close friends got killed to gun violence,” Harrison told PIX11 on Monday night’s edition of the ‘Mary Murphy Files’ on Facebook Live. “Some of my best friends just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Harrison said he related to the recent case of 14-year-old Aamir Griffin, who was shot dead in October while practicing basketball on a court in Baisley Park Houses in south Queens. Harrison used to play ball in the same area and attended the same school as Griffin, Benjamin Cardoza in Bayside, Queens.

“Aamir was not the intended target,” Harrison said. “That location is a place where I would have played ball.”

As a young officer, Harrison worked undercover in the mid-1990s in the narcotics division. He and his partner were shot at by a drug dealer, with Harrison’s colleague hit in the arm and chest. Harrison fired back and apprehended the suspect.

He and his partner were awarded the NYPD’s Combat Cross for their heroism and received promotions to detective.

When we asked Chief Harrison about the new NYPD Commissioner, Dermot Shea—and his commitment to promoting diversity in the department’s highest ranks—Harrison answered by focusing on his own credentials.

“Let’s talk about my background,” Chief Harrison said. “I worked undercover from ’94 to ’97. I was in the 71 Squad and the 73 Squad. I worked in Brooklyn North Detectives as Commander.”

“I know what investigators need,” Harrison added.

He talked about his time as Commanding Officer of the 28 and 32 Precincts in Manhattan.

“One of my best traits was working with the community,” Chief Harrison noted.

After community tensions heightened on Staten Island after the 2014 Eric Garner chokehold case, Harrison was sent there as executive officer.

The chief told PIX11 his biggest challenge now is confronting gang violence.

“The biggest number of shootings, 40 to 45 percent, are gang on gang,” Chief Harrison observed.

Looking back on his 27-year career, Harrison said, “My favorite time in the police department was working undercover, as dangerous as it was.”

He added, “There was a show called ‘New York Undercover.’ I wanted to be like that guy Malik Yoba!’”

Chief Harrison spoke with pride of his three daughters, ages 24, 23 and 18. All three are scholar-athletes who play college basketball.

Some of them are eyeing NYPD careers.

“My oldest two, Amber and Tyra, just took the test,” he revealed to PIX11.

When we asked Chief Harrison what advice he would give his daughters, he responded, “Treat people the way they’re supposed to be treated.”