Latest news with #TarikSheppard
CBS News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Former interim NYPD commissioner to file another lawsuit against Mayor Adams over mental health comments
New York City's former interim police commissioner plans to sue Mayor Eric Adams and his former deputy commissioner for $10 million. Tom Donlon filed a notice of intent to sue Monday, just days after filing another lawsuit against the mayor and several of the NYPD's top brass alleging corruption. In the latest filing, Donlon accuses Adams and former Deputy Chief of Public Information Tarik Sheppard of retaliating with a "public character assassination." Donlon alleges that after the first lawsuit was filed, Adams privately told members of a nonprofit business advocacy group that he fired Donlon last fall because he was "rapidly deteriorating mentally," according to attendees. Donlon cited news reports about those comments in his legal claim. Sheppard also told reporters that his former boss was "going through some cognitive issues" and believed "there was this conspiracy against him," according to Donlon's new filing. Sheppard left the department in May. Donlon's attorney, John Scola, said Monday their comments amounted to a defamatory "public character assassination" intended to "weaponize mental health to silence a whistleblower." CBS News New York reached out to the NYPD, which referred us to City Hall. "This is yet another frivolous attempt to seek compensation at the taxpayers' expense," the mayor's office said in a statement, adding, "We will respond in court if and when the complaint is filed." Donlon became interim police commissioner in September after his predecessor, Edward Caban, resigned following a federal raid of members of the mayor's administration. He served until November, when he passed the torch to Jessica Tisch. Donlon filed his first lawsuit under the RICO act, claiming the mayor and his top staff at the NYPD are running a criminal racketeering enterprise. He called for a federal takeover of the NYPD and appointing an independent special monitor to investigate corruption in the department. That lawsuit centered around claims of unmerited promotions and an alleged coverup attempt. Donlon claims he was sidelined when he started raising questions. The suit named Adams and several of the NYPD's top brass, including Sheppard, First Deputy Commissioner Tania Kinsella, former Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, Chief of Patrol John Chell, then-Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry, who's now deputy mayor for public safety, and Deputy Commissioner of Legal Matters Michael Gerber. "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. 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 NYPD is led by the best, brightest, and most honorable professionals in the nation — and their results speak for themselves: crime continues to fall across the city, with shootings at the lowest level in recorded history. We will respond in court, where we are confident these absurd claims will be disproven," the Adams administration responded in a statement at the time. Earlier this month, four other former high-ranking NYPD members sued the department over accusations of fraudulent promotions.
New York Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Former N.Y.P.D. Commissioner Says He Will Sue Eric Adams for Defamation
Mayor Eric Adams of New York City and a former top aide are facing a defamation suit for publicly questioning the mental acuity of Mr. Adams's former interim police commissioner, Thomas G. Donlon. Mr. Adams and the former aide, Tarik Sheppard, made the comments after Mr. Donlon had accused the mayor and Mr. Sheppard of running City Hall and the Police Department like a criminal enterprise. Mr. Donlon's notice of claim, which was filed Monday with the office of the New York City comptroller, said the disparaging comments 'are targeted smears designed to destroy a whistle-blower's reputation and silence the truth.' The acrimonious back and forth between the mayor and his former interim police commissioner comes as Mr. Adams embarks upon a long-shot re-election campaign partly predicated on the notion that he, a retired police captain, deserves the mayoralty because his management of the Police Department has lowered crime. Mr. Donlon threatens to undermine that narrative with a federal lawsuit accusing the mayor of seeding the Police Department with corruption. He is one of five former top police officials who have accused the mayor of wrongdoing in recent weeks. Mr. Sheppard, a close ally of the mayor who until recently served as the Police Department's chief spokesman, was singled out in Mr. Donlon's original lawsuit as having engaged in significant wrongdoing. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Ex-NYPD commissioner accuses NYC mayor of 'character assassination' in $10 million defamation claim
New York City's former interim police commissioner has filed a $10 million defamation claim against Mayor Eric Adams for reportedly suggesting he was mentally unfit for the job of top cop. The filing comes less than a week after the ex-commissioner, Thomas Donlon, sued Adams and his top deputies, accusing them of operating the department as a criminal racket that rewarded unqualified loyalists and punished whistleblowers. Donlon said he was sidelined for trying to clean up the corruption. After that lawsuit was filed, Adams privately told members of a nonprofit business advocacy group at a meeting that he'd fired Donlon, 71, from his brief stint as commissioner last fall because he was 'rapidly deteriorating mentally," according to attendees. Donlon cited news reports about those comments in his legal claim. The department's former top spokesperson, Tarik Sheppard, who was also named in Donlon's lawsuit, told reporters that his former boss was 'going through some cognitive issues' and believed 'there was this conspiracy against him.' Their comments amounted to a defamatory 'public character assassination" intended to "weaponize mental health to silence a whistleblower,' Donlon's attorney, John Scola, said Monday. Donlon, a former FBI official, was appointed by Adams in September to lead a department reeling from overlapping federal investigations and high-level resignations. He was replaced by the current commissioner, Jessica Tisch, in November. During his short tenure, federal authorities searched Donlon's home for decades-old documents that he said were unrelated to his work at the department. He has not been publicly accused of wrongdoing in connection with that search. In his short time as commissioner, Donlon said he uncovered 'systemic corruption' by members of the mayor's inner circle, including a scheme to reward unqualified loyalists with lucrative promotions in exchange for political favors. In his lawsuit, Donlon accused Sheppard of misappropriating the commissioner's rubber stamp signature to give himself a raise, then threatening to kill Donlon when confronted about it. Sheppard, who left the department in May, has denied that allegation. Inquiries to City Hall about the defamation claim were not immediately returned. In a statement last week, a spokesperson for Adams, Kayla Mamelak Altus, described Donlon's claims as 'absurd.' '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,' she said. The defamation claim adds to a recent spate of litigation brought by police officals against Adams, focusing scrutiny on his leadership as he seeks re-election on a platform emphasizing managerial competence and public safety. Earlier this month, four high-ranking former NYPD officials brought separate lawsuits accusing Adams and his deputies of allowing rampant corruption and cronyism within the police department. In response to those suits, a spokesperson for Adams said the administration 'holds all city employees — including leadership at the NYPD — to the highest standards.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Adams, ally attack former commissioner's mental acuity in response to suit as Donlon cries foul
NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams told a group of business leaders privately Thursday night that he asked former interim Police Commissioner Thomas Donlon to obtain a medical evaluation and when the former federal agent refused he 'had to let him go.' A day earlier, responding to Donlon's explosive lawsuit alleging Adams allowed NYPD top brass to operate as a 'criminal enterprise,' the mayor called Donlon a 'disgruntled former employee' but didn't mention any health concerns. The new tack — questioning Donlon's mental acuity — mirrors that of former NYPD spokesman Tarik Sheppard, who claimed to WPIX Thursday morning that Donlon was experiencing 'some cognitive issues.' Donlon's lawyer, John Scola, told the Daily News there is no record of a medical request by the mayor and said he is preparing a defamation lawsuit against the mayor and Sheppard. 'The Mayor's evolving narrative is as dishonest as it is defamatory,' Scola said. 'If Commissioner Donlon was truly 'off' or suffering from cognitive issues, why did Mayor Adams immediately appoint him to a Senior Advisor role at City Hall? These claims are false, malicious, and will be addressed in court.' Donlon told The News in an interview Thursday, referring to Sheppard, 'He's just grasping at straws, it's pathetic. Of course he's defaming me.' Donlon, a former federal agent who served as police commissioner last fall, sued Mayor Adams and top current and former NYPD officials earlier this week, alleging they operated a 'corrupt enterprise' that rewarded cronies and punished enemies at the expense of both the public and rank-and-file police officers, a copy of the suit shows. Addressing the claims Thursday during the private meeting with the Partnership for New York, Adams initially said he wanted to explain what happened, according to Kathy Wylde, CEO and president of the business group. 'He just explained that he had increasingly observed that Donlon's behavior was off and that he was forgetting things,' Wylde told The News. 'The mayor was advised by a number of people that this problem was going on and so the mayor sat down with him and asked him to see a doctor and get some medical diagnosis and Donlon refused and he had to let him go.' Scola noted this was the first time Adams has made such a claim. He did not broach any medical issue when he decided to replace Donlon with Tisch. After Donlon was pushed out in April from the City Hall post where he worked on obtaining grants, Donlon's lawsuit states he was told the position was being eliminated. 'You don't entrust someone with public safety responsibilities in one of the most powerful offices in the country if you genuinely believe they're mentally unfit,' Scola said. 'There is no record of any medical request, no documentation, and no credible basis for these after-the-fact smears—just a transparent attempt to discredit a whistleblower who exposed corruption at the highest levels.' Adams declined to answer questions about Donlon's mental state after a campaign rally in downtown Manhattan Friday afternoon. Early Friday, Adams suggested the lawsuit was politically motivated, coming in the midst of a tough general election campaign in which the mayor is facing off against Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Party nominee, and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. 'I see an alignment that the timing of this and the individuals involved, and there was clearly what appears to be a rush in this recent one,' he said. 'If you read the 200 and something pages of a novel, typos, there was blanks. So it seems as though someone was trying to rush to get this out during this period of time, because any lawyer that's worth a dime would not submit something with typos, with blanks, with all of these errors on it.' Adams also declared, 'If you really want to get an understanding of Tom, interview him for 15 minutes … and then you tell me, what's your impression? What do you observe?' Pressed on what he meant by this, he said: 'Listen, I don't want to be biased.'
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Police Commissioner Thomas Donlon alleges corruption, misconduct in top ranks at NYPD
NEW YORK — Thomas Donlon, a former federal agent who served as police commissioner last fall, sued Mayor Adams and top current and former NYPD officials Wednesday, alleging they operated a 'corrupt enterprise' that rewarded cronies and punished enemies at the expense of both the public and rank-and-file police officers, a copy of the suit shows. Donlon, 71, who was brought in in September 2024 after Edward Caban resigned amid a federal investigation, alleges in the 251-page complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan the department's former top spokesman Tarik Sheppard threatened to 'kill' him at the NYC Marathon after he discovered Sheppard had improperly used Donlon's rubber signature stamp to approve Sheppard's own promotion to three-star chief. 'I will f—–g kill you,' Sheppard allegedly said, according to the suit. Donlon claims former Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey manipulated his daily schedule, planted 'spies' in his office to keep track of what the new commissioner was doing and blocked attempts to initiate misconduct probes. Maddrey has since resigned under the cloud of a sex for overtime scandal. And Donlon claims Maddrey and Sheppard secretly switched out the names of officers he selected for promotion and replaced them with their own favorites while doctoring records to make it appear Donlon had signed off. He also alleges that after a warehouse fire in 2022 destroyed decades of evidence and exposed sloppy practices, the NYPD promised to compile a comprehensive report on evidence storage. But, Donlon alleges, no report was done and when he toured warehouses in late 2024, he found the same sloppy practices. Mayor Adams, Donlon alleges, either ignored his complaints or sided with Maddrey and his other loyalists – a major break from the past when mayors tended to back their police commissioners ahead of underlings. '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 in a 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.' Adams appointed Donlon Sept. 13 after Edward Caban hastily resigned following a visit from federal agents involved in the then-mushrooming corruption probe. On Nov. 20, Adams summarily dismissed Donlon in favor of Jessica Tisch. Donlon was shunted to a quiet role at City Hall before he was fired in April. The lawsuit names Adams, Sheppard and seven other current and former top NYPD officials, including Maddrey, Chief of Department John Chell, First Deputy Commissioner Tania Kinsella, and now Deputy Mayor Kaz Daughtry. The suit cites federal racketeering statutes in alleging the named defendants engaged in a criminal enterprise that included obstruction of justice, honest services fraud and retaliation against a whistleblower. 'The lawsuit asserts that Adams and his deputies weaponized the NYPD's hierarchy to consolidate political control, shield sexual misconduct, and retaliate against anyone who challenged their authority,' Donlon's lawyer John Scola said. 'Donlon's refusal to play along made him a target—and the Department's values, its officers, and the public all paid the price.' Scola said the suit demands the creation of an independent federal monitor to oversee the NYPD's system of promotions, assignments, and discipline which Donlon claims are corrupted by politics It follows four lawsuits filed by top chiefs who similarly allege promotions were manipulated to benefit Adams NYPD cronies. Spokespeople for the NYPD and the Mayor's office did not immediately reply to requests for comment. ____
