Ex-NYPD Interim Commissioner Sues, Alleging Department Is a Criminal Enterprise
Thomas Donlon was named interim NYPD Commissioner in September 2024 but left the post two months later. In an explosive lawsuit, he is claiming Mayor Eric Adams did nothing to curb rampant corruption in the department. Officials for Adams called the claims “absurd.”
| 16 Jul 2025 | 12:38
NYPD Commissioner Thomas Donlon attends a press conference at One Police Plaza alongside Mayor Eric Adams, Oct. 9, 2024. Credit: Alex Krales/THE CITY (
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Former Interim NYPD Commissioner Thomas Donlon filed an explosive federal lawsuit alleging that Mayor Eric Adams and department leaders function as a criminal “racketeering” enterprise.
Donlon said the officials’ efforts to consolidate power and punish dissent included manipulating the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau to block probes, promoting unqualified but politically connected officers—including by forging his approval using his official commissioner’s stamp—and retaliating against him by sidelining him and even falsely arresting his wife.
In addition to Adams, the 251-page complaint filed July 17 names Chief of Department John Chell, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Kaz Daughtry, First Deputy Commissioner Tania Kinsella, Former Deputy Commissioner Tarik Sheppard, Former Chief of Department Jeffery Maddrey and several other top officials.
“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.
He served as interim police commissioner from mid-September to late November of 2024, when he was moved to a position as a public safety advisor to Adams. That position was eliminated on May 9, the filing in Manhattan Federal Court says.
Prior to that role, Donlon had a long career in law enforcement with the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Office of Homeland Security for New York State.
Donlon says he directly informed Adams about his concern over “fabricated promotions, systemic fraud, retaliatory policing, and the obstruction of internal investigations by high-ranking officials,” the complaint says. “Adams took no actions in response.”
Donlon’s wife was arrested by the NYPD in December after she got involved in a car collision with allegedly expired insurance, according to the New York Post.
Donlon claims the arrest was retaliatory and that the incident was leaked to the publication by top department officials.
City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak-Altus said the city will respond in court to what she characterized as “absurd” claims.
“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. “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.”
Yoav Gonen is a senior reporter for THE CITY, where he covers NYC government, politics and the police department. He can be reached at: ygonen@thecity.nyc.