NYPD Chief Abruptly Resigns After Employee Accuses Him of Exchanging ‘Unwanted Sexual Favors for Overtime Opportunities’

Jeffrey Maddrey has resigned from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) after an employee accused him of coercing her into “performing unwanted sexual favors.”

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch accepted the resignation of the former police chief, who was the department’s highest-ranking uniformed officer, on the evening of Friday, Dec. 20, an NYPD spokesperson said in a statement to PEOPLE.

The news comes after Lt. Quathisha Epps, one of Maddrey’s subordinates during his time as chief, accused him of sexual coercion and exchanging sex for overtime in a complaint and The New York Post interview ahead of the filing.

In the complaint, filed on Saturday, Dec. 21 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Epps alleged that Maddrey engaged in efforts “to coerce her into performing unwanted sexual favors in exchange for overtime opportunities,” according to CBS News.

These alleged efforts — which the complaint stated started in June 2023 and occurred up until Monday, Dec. 16 — included intercourse in the office, the outlet reported. 

Speaking exclusively with the Post, the police lieutenant revealed more details about Maddrey’s alleged sexual misconduct, claiming that he routinely asked her to have sex with him at NYPD headquarters.

The former chief of police “wanted to have anal sex, vaginal sex, oral sex,” Epps, an unmarried mom of three, told the outlet. “He was always asking me to kiss his penis.”

She alleged that Maddrey first coerced her into having intercourse in his office, telling the Post that she “tried to back away” and asked him to stop. She and the former police chief had sex about 10 times after that first instance, she alleged.

She also noted that Maddrey had started being generous with overtime prior to these incidents — and before he stepped into the role of police chief — when she informed him that she was about to lose her home. “He told me I could do whatever overtime I needed,” she told the outlet. “He told me I was like his sister.”

“I think he’s a predator,” she said of Maddrey. “He’d say, ‘We’re going to save your house.’ Like he’s rescuing me. When he’s really just f—— me.”

Epps’ base salary in 2024 was $164,477, but she ultimately earned a total of more than $400,000, according to payroll data viewed by PEOPLE.

She is currently being investigated over excessive overtime, in what she and her lawyer claim is Maddrey’s retaliation after she rejected his advances in October, CBS News reported. Epps also claimed Maddrey “intentionally manipulated” an overtime report used in the investigation.

The former police chief’s attorney, Lambros Lambrou, denied Epps’ allegations in a statement to the Post. “What a convenient time to accuse somebody of misconduct after she’s caught stealing time,” Lambrou said. “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.”

“This is completely meritless, and we deny every aspect of it,” he concluded.

The NYPD did not say whether Maddrey’s resignation is related to new allegations.

The NYPD said in a statement to PEOPLE that the department “takes all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously, and will thoroughly investigate this matter. … The NYPD declines further comment at this time.”

In Maddrey’s place, John Chell will now serve as interim police chief, while Chief of Transportation Philip Rivera has been named interim chief of patrol, the NYPD said.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.