NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 A former top New York City police official admitted through his lawyer Friday that he had a 鈥渃onsensual, adult relationship鈥 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 鈥渟hort time.鈥 The lawyer said Maddrey had no authority to sign off on overtime pay.
鈥淟t. Epps got caught with her hand in the cookie jar and is trying to deflect her wrongdoing by making these allegations against Chief Maddrey,鈥 Lambrou said.
The lawyer claimed to have text messages, phone records and 鈥渞acy videos and photographs鈥 that he said Epps sent to Maddrey 鈥渢o have him begin a relationship with her.鈥
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 鈥渜uid pro quo sexual harassment鈥 by coercing her to 鈥減erform unwanted sexual favors in exchange for overtime opportunities in the workplace.鈥
Epps, who held an administrative post in Maddrey鈥檚 office, was the NYPD's top earner in fiscal year 2024, according to payroll data, . More than half of it was overtime pay.
Epps contends that when she finally pushed back at Maddrey鈥檚 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.
Epps鈥 lawyer, Eric Sanders, said Lambrou鈥檚 admission that Maddrey had a sexual relationship with Epps undercut a previous statement denying 鈥渆very aspect鈥 of the allegations.
鈥淲e have a treasure trove of digital data that will hopefully bring this degenerate to justice,鈥 Sanders said.
Maddrey, a close ally of , 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 , 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 鈥渢akes all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously and will thoroughly investigate this matter.鈥
Maddrey鈥檚 resignation follows months of scandal and leadership turnover at the NYPD, the nation鈥檚 largest police department. In September, after federal agents searched his home as part of a wide-ranging inquiry into members of Adams鈥 inner circle.
Soon after, Timothy Pearson, another Adams adviser with wide latitude over the NYPD, resigned after investigators . He has also been accused of sexual harassment by multiple colleagues.
Neither Pearson nor Caban have been criminally charged, and both have denied wrongdoing.
