Ex-NYPD chief admits a relationship with subordinate, but denies he demanded sex for overtime pay

[December 28, 2024]  By JAKE OFFENHARTZ and MICHAEL R. SISAK

NEW YORK (AP) — A former top New York City police official admitted through his lawyer Friday that he had a “consensual, adult relationship” with a subordinate, but denied her claims that he demanded sex in exchange for extra pay.

Jeffrey Maddrey stood silently as his lawyer, Lambros Lambrou, addressed allegations that culminated in resignation a week ago as chief of department, the NYPD's highest-ranking uniformed officer.

Lambrou, speaking to reporters at his Manhattan law office, said that the 33-year NYPD veteran's relationship with Lt. Quathisha Epps lasted only a “short time.” The lawyer said Maddrey had no authority to sign off on overtime pay.

“Lt. Epps got caught with her hand in the cookie jar and is trying to deflect her wrongdoing by making these allegations against Chief Maddrey,” Lambrou said.

The lawyer claimed to have text messages, phone records and “racy videos and photographs” that he said Epps sent to Maddrey “to have him begin a relationship with her.”

Epps raised allegations against Maddrey last weekend in a complaint she filed against the city with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

In it, she claimed 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 held an administrative post in Maddrey’s office, was the NYPD's top earner in fiscal year 2024, according to payroll data, pulling in more than $400,000. More than half of it was overtime pay.

Epps contends 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. Lambrou said Friday that the timing didn't add up because Epps was already under investigation before she filed her complaint.

Former NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, right, and attorney Lambros Lambrou, center, attend a press conference, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Epps’ lawyer, Eric Sanders, said Lambrou’s admission that Maddrey had a sexual relationship with Epps undercut a previous statement denying “every aspect” of the allegations.

“We have a treasure trove of digital data that will hopefully bring this degenerate to justice,” Sanders said.

Maddrey, a close ally of mayor and former police captain Eric Adams, joined the NYPD in 1991 and rose through the ranks to become chief of patrol in 2021.

Last year, Maddrey was promoted to chief of department despite a history of internal disciplinary issues, including an allegation that he lied to investigators about an affair with another subordinate.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch accepted Maddrey's resignation on Dec. 20, effective immediately. She appointed John Chell, the former chief of patrol, to the position on an interim basis.

The NYPD has declined to comment on the allegations against Maddrey other than to say it “takes all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously and will thoroughly investigate this matter.”

Maddrey’s resignation follows months of scandal and leadership turnover at the NYPD, the nation’s largest police department. In September, Commissioner Edward Caban resigned after federal agents searched his home as part of a wide-ranging inquiry into members of Adams’ inner circle.

Soon after, Timothy Pearson, another Adams adviser with wide latitude over the NYPD, resigned after investigators seized devices and cash from his home. He has also been accused of sexual harassment by multiple colleagues.

Neither Pearson nor Caban have been criminally charged, and both have denied wrongdoing.

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