The top uniformed police officer in the New York Police Department has resigned amid allegations he demanded inappropriate favors from a subordinate in exchange for opportunities to earn extra pay. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch accepted the resignation of Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey Friday night, effective immediately, according to an emailed statement from the department Saturday. John Chell, the department’s chief of patrol, will take over as interim chief of department and Philip Rivera will assume Chell’s duties as the head of the patrol division, the department said. The department declined to comment on the allegations against Maddrey other than to say it “takes all allegations of… misconduct seriously and will thoroughly investigate this matter.” A lawyer for his accuser, Lt. Quathisha Epps, said the move was overdue. “This should have been done a long time ago,” attorney Eric Sanders said by phone Saturday. “This has been years in the making, this kind of behavior. This is not shock for anyone who understands how things work in this department.” On Saturday, Epps filed a complaint against the city with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming that Maddrey engaged in “quid pro quo…  harassment” …  in exchange for overtime opportunities in the workplace.” Epps, who holds an administrative post in Maddrey’s office, said 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. Sanders said his client was then suspended without pay despite putting in her retirement notice earlier this week. Epps was the department’s top earner in fiscal year 2024, earning more than $400,000, according to local media reports — more than half of it in overtime pay. “Ms. Epps has endured profound harm at the hands of individuals who exploited their positions of power for personal gain,” Sanders said in a statement. “The retaliation she faced for standing up to this abuse underscores the need for immediate reforms to address systemic failures within the NYPD.” Spokespersons for the department declined to comment on the complaint, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said it is investigating. “These are extremely serious and disturbing claims that allegedly occurred at N.Y.P.D. 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 concerning and alarming” and that the department was conducting a full review, the New York Post reported. Maddrey’s attorney, Lambros Lambrou, didn’t respond to a request for comment on the various allegations. However, in a statement to the New York Post, he dismissed Epps’ claims as “completely meritless.” “What a convenient time to accuse somebody of misconduct after she’s caught stealing time,” Lambrou told the paper. “She’s obviously drowning and in the deep end of the pool without a lifesaver. She wants to take down as many people as she can.” Sanders responded that any overtime his client worked was at the request of Maddrey and approved by him and other department officials. Meanwhile, Maddrey has been the subject of other misconduct allegations, including one from a police captain who says she rebuffed with his unwanted advances for years. John Scola, a lawyer for Gabrielle Walls, said in a statement that Maddrey’s departure “vindicates” the police captain, who this […]