The nation’s largest police department is “criminal at its core” and “functions as a racketeering enterprise” at the direction of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a former interim police commissioner claims in a federal civil lawsuit.
Thomas Donlon alleges in a lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York on July 16 that “senior leadership had abandoned lawful governance and engaged in outright malfeasance by using the NYPD to consolidate political power, obstruct justice, and punish dissent.”
The 251-page lawsuit names Adams, the city of New York, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Kaz Daughtry, and New York Police Department Chief John Chell among its 10 defendants.
USA TODAY reached out to Adams’ office for comment but had not received a response as of 12:45 a.m. ET.
The lawsuit further alleges that the defendants sabotaged Donlon’s oversight efforts, including canceling his meetings, altering his schedule, spying on his communications, and excluding him from operational decisions. It also claims the defendants used Donlon’s police commissioner stamp to forge documents and promote politically connected officers.
“This lawsuit is not a personal grievance; it is a statement against a corrupt system that betrays the public, silences truth, and punishes integrity,” Donlon said, according to the Gothamist. Donlon was appointed by Adams after Edward A. Caban resigned in 2024 following a federal raid, according to WABC.
The filing comes days after four high-ranking former New York City police officials filed a separate suit alleging that Adams doled out patronage promotions and a culture of cronyism in the NYPD, according to the Associated Press. Donlon was appointed commissioner by Adams in 2024.
USA TODAY has also reached out to the NYPD for comment.
Lawsuit: ‘Corruption triggered a massive, unlawful transfer of public wealth’
The lawsuit points, in part, to an incident where Tarik Sheppard, a former spokesperson for the New York Police Department and a defendant in the lawsuit, threatened to kill Donlon after being confronted for using the stamp to promote himself.
“This corruption triggered a massive, unlawful transfer of public wealth — millions of dollars in unearned salary increases, overtime eligibility, pension enhancements, and post-retirement benefits,” the lawsuit claims.
Sheppard denied that the incident occurred, saying that such a stamp did not exist and that the move to chief of staff was a lateral move as a three-star chief in an interview with USA TODAY.
“Commissioner Donlon has already apologized to me when I was still active in the NYPD when he realized that there’s no such stamp that exists in his office or in the office I held,” Sheppard said. “The only group of people that could possibly put his name on anything is our human resources bureau or our personnel bureau.”
Sheppard was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Public Information by Caban in 2023. He was replaced by Donlon’s successor and current Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch in December, according to the New York Times.
The lawsuit also claims “systemic negligence” with the handling of evidence, and that the police department didn’t have a functional tracking system, placing evidence in cardboard boxes and paper barrels without proper labels.
Donlon demanded “immediate action” on the issue and a report on a December 2023 evidence warehouse fire in Brooklyn, but neither occurred, according to the lawsuit.
“This silence and inaction are proof of ongoing incompetence, apathy, and a profound leadership crisis within the NYPD,” the lawsuit reads.
‘He can sue all he wants. This is nothing new’
In a statement to ABC News, Kayla Mamelak Altus, Adam’s press secretary, called Donlon’s allegations “an attempt to seek compensation at the taxpayer’s expense.”
“These are baseless accusations from a disgruntled former employee who — when given the opportunity to lead the greatest police department in the world — proved himself to be ineffective,” Altus said.
Sheppard echoed Altus’ statement in the late Wednesday interview.
“He can sue all he wants. This is nothing new,” Sheppard said. “Many employees who have left the NYPD disgruntled, have turned around and sued.”
The lawsuit seeks a court order imposing an independent federal monitor on the department that would “ensure compliance with federal and state law and to prevent further retaliation, obstruction, or abuse” as well as unspecified financial damages.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mayor Eric Adams uses the NYPD to consolidate police power: Lawsuit
