From Newsgroup: nyc.politics

NEW YORK (AP) u The top uniformed police officer in the New York Police Department has resigned amid allegations he demanded sex from a
subordinate in exchange for opportunities to earn extra pay.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch accepted the resignation of Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey Friday night, effective immediately, according
to an emailed statement from the department Saturday.

John Chell, the departmentAs chief of patrol, will take over as interim
chief of department and Philip Rivera will assume ChellAs duties as the
head of the patrol division, the department said.

The department declined to comment on the allegations against Maddrey
other than to say it otakes all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously
and will thoroughly investigate this matter.o

A lawyer for his accuser, Lt. Quathisha Epps, said the move was overdue.

oThis should have been done a long time ago,o attorney Eric Sanders said
by phone Saturday. oThis has been years in the making, this kind of
behavior. This is not shock for anyone who understands how things work in
this department.o

On Saturday, Epps filed a complaint against the city with the federal
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming that Maddrey engaged in oquid pro quo sexual harassmento by coercing her to operform unwanted
sexual favors in exchange for overtime opportunities in the workplace.o

Epps, who holds an administrative post in MaddreyAs office, said that when
she finally pushed back at MaddreyAs 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 departmentAs top earner in fiscal year 2024, earning more
than $400,000, according to local media reports u more than half of it in overtime pay.

oMs. Epps has endured profound harm at the hands of individuals who
exploited their positions of power for personal gain,o Sanders said in a statement. oThe retaliation she faced for standing up to this abuse underscores the need for immediate reforms to address systemic failures
within the NYPD.o

Spokespersons for the department declined to comment on the complaint, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin BraggAs office said it is investigating.

oThese are extremely serious and disturbing claims that allegedly occurred
at N.Y.P.D. headquarters in Manhattan,o the office said in a statement.

Mayor Eric Adams, a former police captain, said at an unrelated event
Saturday that the allegations against Maddrey were oextremely concerning
and alarmingo and that the department was conducting a full review, the
New York Post reported.

MaddreyAs attorney, Lambros Lambrou, didnAt respond to a request for
comment on the various allegations. However, in a statement to the New
York Post, he dismissed EppsA claims as ocompletely meritless.o

oWhat a convenient time to accuse somebody of misconduct after sheAs
caught stealing time,o Lambrou told the paper. oSheAs obviously drowning
and in the deep end of the pool without a lifesaver. She wants to take
down as many people as she can.o

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 misconduct allegations, including one from a police captain who says she rebuffed with his
unwanted advances for years.

John Scola, a lawyer for Gabrielle Walls, said in a statement that
MaddreyAs departure ovindicateso the police captain, who this week amended
her sexual harassment lawsuit against another top officer to include
Maddrey.

Walls said in the filing that she dreaded interacting with Maddrey because
he frequently tried to kiss her, prompting her to hide from him with the
door locked and lights turned off.

oWe hope this high-profile resignation marks the beginning of a cultural
shift to eliminate the pervasive environment of harassment and retaliation within the NYPD,o Scola said.

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 joined the police force in 1991 at the age of 20 and rose through
the ranks to become chief of patrol in 2021, before being promoted to
chief of department last December, according to his department biography.

The chief of department is charged with overseeing the departmentAs ocrime-fighting strategies, quality of life initiatives, and operational plans,o according TischAs Saturday announcement. The chief of patrol
manages the departmentAs largest bureau, which consists of 15,000
uniformed patrol officers and 3,000 civilians.

oThe NYPD works tirelessly to protect New Yorkers, and these roles are critical to keeping our communities safe,o Tisch said in her statement.
oThe interim Chiefs of Department and Patrol will continue to lead the
efforts to reduce crime and disorder and build public trust.o

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