In the meantime, the politically-connected deputy commissioner overseeing the workplace has quietly left the NYPD and moved to a brand new job with the identical title on the Correction Division, information present.
The restructuring of the division’s Equal Employment workplace comes within the wake of the scandal that led to the December resignation of Maddrey, the NYPD’s former chief of division, following a grievance filed by now-retired Lt. Quathisha Epps.
Ex-NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey. (Shawn Inglima/New York Day by day Information)
“The NYPD office of Equal Employment has long been plagued by favoritism and manipulation, shielding those in power rather than holding them accountable,” stated John Scola, an legal professional who typically represents police shoppers with discrimination claims. “We hope Commissioner Tisch’s direct oversight will cut through the dysfunction and finally address the unchecking discrimination and retaliation within the department.”
Epps, previously an administrative lieutenant in Maddrey’s workplace, alleged the chief coerced her into intercourse within the workplace on a number of events in change for extra time pay. Epps earned greater than $200,000 in extra time in fiscal 2024. Her grievance is pending. Maddrey claims the sexual relationship with Epps was consensual.
Wendy Garcia, the previous NYPD deputy commissioner of fairness and inclusion overseeing the equal employment workplace throughout the interval lined by the Maddrey scandal, quietly took a brand new job with DOC final month, however the transfer wasn’t posted till this month. As of Thursday, Garcia was nonetheless listed as serving within the NYPD submit at the same time as she was additionally pictured on DOC’s web site with the identical {photograph}.
NYPD Lt. Quathisha Epps. (NYPD)
The earlier construction was “deemed obsolete and revoked,” the order states.
Police officers denied the restructuring was associated to the Maddrey scandal, saying neither workplace was concerned in probing the scandal. As an alternative, they stated, the transfer was made based mostly on steerage from the U.S. Workplace of Personnel Administration that stated “organizations achieve optimal outcomes when human resources, EEO and DEI functions operate as separate entities that collaborate closely.”
Garcia is the previous companion of Carlos Rodriguez, a brother of metropolis Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, who has been a staunch supporter of Mayor Adams. Rodriguez, the DOT commissioner, declined to remark. Garcia was additionally an intern for Rep. Adriano Espaillat, one other staunch Adams supporter.
The Equal Employment Workplace has lengthy been criticized as ineffective, and weathered a serious scandal in 2021 when its commander, James Kobel, was pressured to retire after a probe discovered he was posting racist feedback below a pseudonym in NYPD chat rooms.
Epps not too long ago filed a grievance with the NYPD’s Inner Affairs Bureau after nude movies of her have been circulated in textual content messages across the division.
Initially Revealed: March 20, 2025 at 12:36 PM EDT
