NEW YORK (1010 WINS/AP) — NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey resigned suddenly on Friday night after being accused of sexual misconduct, according to the department.
“Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch accepted the resignation of Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey Friday night, effective immediately,” an NYPD spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday. “The NYPD takes all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously, and will thoroughly investigate this matter.”
A lawyer for Maddrey's accuser, Lt. Quathisha Epps, said the move was overdue.
“This should have been done a long time ago,” attorney Eric Sanders said to The Associated Press over the phone Saturday. “This has been years in the making, this kind of behavior. This is not shock for anyone who understands how things work in this department.”
On Saturday, Epps filed a complaint against the city with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming that Maddrey engaged in “quid pro quo sexual harassment” by coercing her to “perform unwanted sexual favors in exchange for overtime opportunities in the workplace.”
Epps, who holds an administrative post in Maddrey’s office, said that when she finally pushed back at Maddrey's demands, he retaliated by claiming she was abusing overtime, prompting the department to launch a review.
Sanders said his client was then suspended without pay despite putting in her retirement notice earlier this week.
Epps was the department’s top earner in fiscal year 2024, earning more than $400,000, according to local media reports—more than half of it in overtime pay.
“Ms. Epps has endured profound harm at the hands of individuals who exploited their positions of power for personal gain," Sanders said in a statement. "The retaliation she faced for standing up to this abuse underscores the need for immediate reforms to address systemic failures within the NYPD.”
Spokespersons for the department didn't immediately respond to a message from The AP seeking comment.
Maddrey's attorney, Lambros Lambrou, also didn’t respond to a request from The AP for comment on the various allegations. However, in a statement to the New York Post, he dismissed Epps' claims as “completely meritless."
“What a convenient time to accuse somebody of misconduct after she’s caught stealing time,” Lambrou told the paper. “She’s obviously drowning and in the deep end of the pool without a lifesaver. She wants to take down as many people as she can."
Sanders responded that any overtime his client worked was at the request of Maddrey and approved by him and other department officials.
Meanwhile, Maddrey has been the subject of other sexual misconduct allegations, including one from a police captain who says she dealt with repeated unwanted advances.
A former officer has also claimed Maddrey coerced her into a yearslong affair while he was her supervisor, though that case was dismissed by a state judge last month, the New York Post and others reported.
Earlier this year, an administrative trial judge in the department recommended dropping a disciplinary case against Maddrey regarding a November 2021 incident in which he ordered officers to void the arrest of a retired officer who previously worked for him.
Maddrey, who joined the police force in 1991, became chief of patrol in 2021 before he was appointed to the chief of department role in December 2022 by former Commissioner Keechant Sewell. He served under Sewell and was in the position under former Commissioner Edward Caban, former interim Commissioner Thomas Donlon and now-Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who took the top cop spot less than a month ago.
On Friday night, Tisch named Chief of Patrol John Chell as the interim chief of department. The chief of department is the highest-ranking uniformed officer role and oversees the “crime-fighting strategies, quality of life initiatives and operational plans” of the NYPD.
Chief of Transportation Philip Rivera was named the interim chief of patrol, and Deputy Chief Thomas Alps will assume command of the Transportation Bureau until a replacement is determined, Tisch said.
“The NYPD works tirelessly to protect New Yorkers, and these roles are critical to keeping our communities safe,” Tisch said in a statement on Saturday. “The interim Chiefs of Department and Patrol will continue to lead the efforts to reduce crime and disorder and build public trust.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.