Four former high-ranking police officers are suing New York City Mayor Eric Adams, accusing him of allowing corruption within the Police Department. They claim anyone who spoke out faced reprisal and humiliation, according to The New York Times (NYT). 

The cases filed on Monday in the New York Supreme Court come as Mr. Adams, a veteran police captain, is seeking mayoral re-election and relying on lowering crime rates to boost his candidacy. However, the allegations made by the former officers, who each spent decades in the department and worked in Internal Affairs and Professional Standards, have the potential to reignite suspicions that he presided over a law enforcement organization riddled with disarray and corruption. 

According to the recent NYT report, James Essig, a retired cop with over 40 years of service, served as chief of detectives until August 2023. He claimed in the lawsuit that the commissioner at the time, Edward Caban, compelled him to retire when he objected to the elevation of unqualified personnel to elite detective jobs and specialized groups.

Mr. Essig's case, which names Mr. Caban, Mr. Adams, and Jeff Maddrey, the former chief of department, accuses Mr. Caban of selling promotions for $15,000.

According to the lawsuit, instead of relying on a list of applicants selected by supervisors, Mr. Caban and Mr. Maddrey frequently chose "friends and cronies," including Mr. Adams.

Mr. Essig stated that he demanded "accountability" for prior leaders whose policies "killed morale" and harmed the careers of scores of police officers who were thrown out or left the department due to concerns about its direction.

The lawsuits are intended to expose the misbehavior of "people who were in there who didn't do the right thing," he stated. "They used the Police Department as their own little playground."

Mr. Adams' spokeswoman, Kayla Mamelak Altus, said the administration would consider the lawsuits.

"The Adams administration holds all city employees — including leadership at the N.Y.P.D. — to the highest standards," Altus said in a statement shared with NYT. "Our work at the department speaks for itself: Crime continues to topple month after month both above and below ground."

"That is no coincidence," Ms. Mamelak Altus noted. "It's thanks to the Adams administration's laser focus on public safety."