Mayor Adams instructed a gaggle of enterprise leaders privately Thursday night time that he requested former interim Police Commissioner Thomas Donlon to acquire a medical analysis and when the previous federal agent refused he “had to let him go.”
A day earlier, responding to Donlon’s explosive lawsuit alleging Adams allowed NYPD high brass to function as a “criminal enterprise,” the mayor referred to as Donlon a “disgruntled former employee” however didn’t point out any well being issues.
The brand new tack — questioning Donlon’s psychological acuity — mirrors that of former NYPD spokesman Tarik Sheppard, who claimed to WPIX Thursday morning that Donlon was experiencing “some cognitive issues.”
July 17, 2025: Ex-commish: ‘Corrupt’ chiefs rule NYPD
New York Day by day Information
Entrance web page for July 17, 2025: Hopes second bombshell go well with vs. dept., Adams in previous two weeks will spur reforms. Former NYPD Commissioner Thomas Donlon (principal picture) is suing the division, saying ex-Chief Jeffrey Maddrey (beneath proper) and different chiefs have run a corrupt group and Mayor Adams has executed nothing to cease them.
“The Mayor’s evolving narrative is as dishonest as it is defamatory,” Scola mentioned. “If Commissioner Donlon was truly ‘off’ or suffering from cognitive issues, why did Mayor Adams immediately appoint him to a Senior Advisor role at City Hall? These claims are false, malicious, and will be addressed in court.”
Interim NYPD Commissioner Tom Donlon is pictured at Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn, New York Metropolis on Sunday, Sept. 15 2024. (Gardiner Anderson for New York Day by day Information)
Donlon, a former federal agent who served as police commissioner final fall, sued Mayor Adams and high present and former NYPD officers earlier this week, alleging they operated a “corrupt enterprise” that rewarded cronies and punished enemies on the expense of each the general public and rank-and-file cops, a duplicate of the go well with exhibits.
Addressing the claims Thursday in the course of the personal assembly with the Partnership for New York, Adams initially mentioned he needed to elucidate what occurred, in response to Kathy Wylde, CEO and President of the enterprise group.
Scola famous this was the primary time Adams has made such a declare. He didn’t broach any medical difficulty when he determined to switch Donlon with Tisch.
After Donlon was pushed out in April from the Metropolis Corridor put up the place he labored on acquiring grants, Donlon’s lawsuit states he was instructed the place was being eradicated.
“You don’t entrust someone with public safety responsibilities in one of the most powerful offices in the country if you genuinely believe they’re mentally unfit,” Scola mentioned. “There is no record of any medical request, no documentation, and no credible basis for these after-the-fact smears—just a transparent attempt to discredit a whistleblower who exposed corruption at the highest levels.”
Adams declined to reply questions on Donlon’s psychological state after a marketing campaign rally in downtown Manhattan Friday afternoon.
Early Friday, Adams urged the lawsuit was politically motivated, coming within the midst of a tricky common election marketing campaign wherein the mayor is going through off in opposition to Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Get together nominee and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“I see an alignment that the timing of this and the individuals involved, and there was clearly what appears to be a rush in this recent one,” he mentioned.
“If you read the 200 and something pages of a novel, typos, there was blanks. So it seems as though someone was trying to rush to get this out during this period of time, because any lawyer that’s worth a dime would not submit something with typos, with blanks, with all of these errors on it.”
Adams additionally declared, “If you really want to get an understanding of Tom, interview him for 15 minutes … and then you tell me, what’s your impression? What do you observe?”
Pressed on what he meant by this, he mentioned: “Listen, I don’t want to be biased.”
Initially Printed: July 18, 2025 at 6:15 PM EDT
