NYPD Commissioner Losing Power Under Mayor Adams

New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell has become powerless in making decisions in her department without approval from Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, which has “tied her up,” after she approved disciplining Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, the NYPD’s highest-ranking uniformed officer, according to sources. 

Historically, commissioners have been able to promote detectives to higher grades or transfer police officers into detective service, but such matters are now up to Adams’ discretion, the sources, who were not named, told the New York Post. 

“There’s no executive choices on her behalf,” one of the sources said. “If a cop distinguishes himself and she wants to promote him, she can’t do it.”

Sewell already did not have much power but lost even more after approving disciplinary action against Maddrey, who was found to have abused his authority in connection with a 2021 gun case. 

“She didn’t do what [City Hall] wanted,” the source said. “They wanted him to get a pass.”

Maddrey was disciplined after the Civilian Complaint Review Board, the citizen watchdog group for the NYPD, found Maddrey had charges dropped against former NYPD officer Kruythoff Forrester after he was accused of pulling a gun on three children, ages 12, 13, and 14, who had broken a camera at his family’s business in Brownsville. 

The minors claimed the camera was broken accidentally, and Forrester denied pulling a weapon on them. 

Maddrey had been a former commander at the 73rd Precinct and knew Forrester, and he overruled an arresting sergeant and showed up at the station to support his friend, reports said. 

Maddrey is planning to fight the charges against him, police sources say, and his attorney says he’s confident he’ll win the departmental trial. 

But with Adams, a retired police captain now overseeing transfers, a source said police supervisors will be expected to submit a form to City Hall to approve all transfers, a source said. 

“You have the first female police commissioner, and she’s surrounded by males who have her in check,” the source commented, referring to Adams, Deputy Mayor Philip Banks, and Maddrey. “The patriarchy is in control. Sewell is not in control of the NYPD.”

An NYPD spokesperson declined to comment on the accusations.