The New York Police Department’s highest-ranking uniformed officer has resigned amid allegations that he solicited subordinates for sex in exchange for extra pay.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch accepted the resignation of Department Chief Jeffrey Madry Friday night, effective immediately, according to a department statement Saturday.
Patrol Chief John Chell will take over as interim chief of the department, and Philip Rivera will assume Chell’s duties as chief of the patrol division, the NYPD said.
Late Saturday, Tisch replaced the head of the Internal Affairs Bureau, which investigates alleged police misconduct, saying in a statement that the unit “must always be dedicated to preserving integrity and rooting out all forms of corruption.” After relieving Miguel Iglesias of his command, he appointed Edward Thompson as interim chief.
The NYPD declined to comment on the allegations against Madre except to say it “takes all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously and will thoroughly investigate the matter.”
A lawyer for his accuser, Lt. Kwathisha Epps, said the move was late.
“This should have been done a long time ago,” attorney Eric Sanders said by phone Saturday. “It’s years in the making, behavior like this. It’s not shocking to anyone who understands how the department works.
On Saturday, Epps filed a complaint against the city with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming that Maddrey engaged in “quid pro sexual harassment” by forcing her to “perform unwanted sexual favors in exchange for overtime opportunities in the workplace.”
Epps, who held an administrative position in Maddre’s office, said that when she finally pushed back on Maddre’s demands, he responded by claiming overtime abuse, prompting the department to launch a review.
Sanders said his client was suspended without pay despite giving notice of his retirement earlier this week.
Epps was the department’s top earner in fiscal year 2024, earning more than $400,000 — more than half of that in overtime pay, according to local media reports.
“Mrs. Epps has suffered profound harm at the hands of individuals who abused their position of power for personal gain,” Sanders said in a statement. “The retaliation he faced for addressing this abuse underscores the need for urgent reform to address systemic failures within the NYPD.”
Department spokesmen declined to comment on the complaint, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said it was under investigation.
“These are very serious and disturbing allegations that allegedly took place at NYPD headquarters in Manhattan,” 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 “extremely troubling and troubling” and that the department was conducting a full review, the New York Post reported.
Maddrey’s attorney, Lambros Lambrou, did not respond to requests for comment on the various allegations. However, in a statement to the New York Post, he dismissed Epps’ claims as “totally without merit.”
Lambro told the paper, “What an appropriate time to accuse someone of abuse, when she’s stealing time. “She’s clearly drowning and in the deep end of the pool without a life preserver. She wants to eliminate as many people as possible. “
Sanders responded that any overtime her client worked was at Madre’s request and approved by her and other department officials.
Meanwhile, Madre has been the subject of other abuse allegations, including from a police captain who says she rebuffed his unwanted advances over the years.
John Scola, a lawyer for Gabriel Walls, said in a statement that Madre’s departure “justifies” the police captain, who this week amended his sexual harassment lawsuit against another top officer to include Madre.
Wall said in the filing that she was afraid to interact with Maddre because he repeatedly tried to kiss her, prompting her to hide from him by closing the door and turning off the lights.
“We hope that this high-profile resignation will initiate a cultural change to address the pervasive climate of harassment and retaliation within the NYPD,” Scola said.
A former officer also claimed Madry forced her into a yearlong relationship 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 at the department recommended dropping a disciplinary case against Madry in connection with a November 2021 incident in which he ordered authorities to revoke the arrest of a retired officer who had previously worked for him.
Madre joined the police force in 1991 at the age of 20 and was promoted to patrol chief in 2021, before being promoted to department chief last December, according to his department biography.
The department chief is charged with overseeing the department’s “crime-fighting strategies, quality of life initiatives, and operational plans,” according to Tisch’s announcement Saturday. The Chief of Patrol manages the department’s largest bureau, consisting of 15,000 uniformed patrol officers and 3,000 civilians.
“The NYPD works tirelessly to protect New Yorkers, and these roles are critical to keeping our communities safe,” Tisch said in her statement. “The interim chiefs of department and patrol will continue to lead efforts to reduce crime and disorder and build public confidence.”
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