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What happened: Former New York Police Department chair Thomas Donlon sued Mayor Eric Adams and other top police officers on Wednesday, accusing him of “criminal corporations” Adams “using power, obstructing justice and punishing opposition.”
In a 251-page complaint, Donlon said the mayor used the sector’s community response team for political interest. “The CRT has become the enforcement unit of defendant Adams’ political strategy,” the complaint states, “it will be a tool to project the “severe” optics of crime at the expense of civil rights and the constitution.”
We also call CRTs an “illegal” unit that answers “only for city halls.”
The lawsuit has been extensively drawn from a recent Propublica investigation. This detailed how the mayor defended CRT despite concerns from the police department. Adams said he was very close to the unit, according to a former official.
What they said: “The community response team speaks to a culture under Adams that they knowingly violate the constitutional rights of civilians and officers,” Donlon lawyer John Scola told Propoblica. The culture says, “We do whatever we want to do.”
Background: In 2023, a senior NYPD official wrote a scathing internal audit after realising that CRT officials had unfairly stopped New Yorkers and failed to document the incident. A few weeks later, Adams went to Instagram to boost the unit. “I’ve come close to the team,” he wrote, showing him a photo of him wearing a wide smile and his khaki pants, the official CRT uniform.
Officials who wrote the audit were pushed out a few months later. He and other top former commanders recently sued Adams, alleging benefits and misconduct, and accused the mayor of denying it.
Why it matters: Donlon, a former FBI agent who worked as police chief from September to November 2024, has robbed the charges against Adams as the mayor is in a difficult fight to continue his job. Adams was charged last fall with bribery, fraud and illegally campaign contributions from foreigners. He pleaded not guilty. He avoided trial by working with the administration on immigration enforcement to sign a contract with President Donald Trump, who left the prosecution in exchange for Adams. Still, he runs for reelection as an independent to the city’s popular and popular Democrat Zoran Mamdani.
Answer: In a statement, the mayor’s office dismissed Donlon’s claim.
“These are unfounded accusations from disgruntled former employees, and when given the opportunity to lead the world’s greatest police department, I have proven myself ineffective,” the statement said. “The lawsuit is merely an attempt to seek compensation at taxpayer’s expense after Mr Donlon is justly removed from his role as interim police chief.”
Previously, Adam was advocating for CRT. When asked about the unit at a press conference this spring, the mayor said, “CRT is here.” He continues, “I support all the units.”
The NYPD did not respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
How Eric Adams Backed the Secret NYPD Unit Riding Abusive
