Former interim NYPD Commissioner Tom Donlon has filed a lawsuit against the New York Police Department, Mayor Eric Adams, and several current and former city officials, accusing them of operating a coordinated criminal conspiracy within the country’s largest police force.
The complaint, filed Wednesday in Manhattan Supreme Court, alleges that high-ranking city and police officials engaged in a pattern of fraud, obstruction, and retaliation, behavior Donlon claims amounted to racketeering.
“A coordinated criminal conspiracy had taken root at the highest levels of City government,” the suit states, accusing the NYPD of being “criminal at its core.” The alleged conduct includes mail and wire fraud, obstruction of justice, and the abuse of internal disciplinary systems to shield allies and punish internal dissent.
Donlon, who served briefly as acting commissioner following Edward Caban’s resignation in 2024, described the suit as a broader call to accountability. “This lawsuit is not a personal grievance; it is a statement against a corrupt system that betrays the public, silences truth, and punishes integrity,” he said in a written statement. “The goal is to drive real change, hold the corrupt, deceitful, and abusively powerful accountable, and restore the voice of every honorable officer who has been silenced or denied justice.”
The complaint seeks sweeping remedies, including federal oversight of the NYPD and the appointment of an independent monitor to supervise disciplinary procedures and promotion practices.
City Hall dismissed the lawsuit’s claims as unfounded and retaliatory. “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,” said mayoral spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus. “This suit is nothing more than an attempt to seek compensation at the taxpayer’s expense after Mr. Donlon was rightfully removed from the role of interim police commissioner.”
The New York City Law Department declined to comment.
According to the complaint, Donlon accuses several top officials, including former Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, current Chief John Chell, and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Kaz Daughtry, of obstructing internal investigations and manipulating personnel decisions to advance favored officers. He claims documents were falsified to promote unqualified candidates and that whistleblowers, including himself, were systematically sidelined.
The most serious allegation centers on the treatment of Donlon’s wife, who he says was falsely arrested at a Midtown precinct. The suit accuses Daughtry, former Assistant Chief Tarik Sheppard, and Deputy Commissioner for Legal Matters Michael Gerber of orchestrating the arrest in retaliation for Donlon’s repeated attempts to raise concerns with Mayor Adams.
Donlon was named interim commissioner in September 2024, following Caban’s abrupt resignation amid a federal corruption probe. He remained in the role for just two months before being reassigned as a senior public safety advisor, a position that was ultimately eliminated in April of this year.
His lawsuit comes days after four other former NYPD chiefs filed their own legal challenges against the department, alleging internal interference in disciplinary cases and politically motivated promotions. Mayor Adams, now seeking reelection as an independent, has faced growing scrutiny over his administration’s management of the NYPD.
As of Wednesday, no criminal charges have been filed in relation to the allegations detailed in the complaint. The case is pending before the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan.
