Former interim NYPD commissioner Donlon files $10 million notice he'll sue Mayor Eric Adams for defamation

Graham Rayman, New York Daily News on Jul 21, 2025

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NEW YORK — Former NYPD Interim Commissioner Thomas Donlon filed a $10 million notice of intent to sue the city Monday, alleging Mayor Eric Adams and former NYPD spokesman Tarik Sheppard slandered him when they claimed without providing evidence Donlon was removed from the post because he was “mentally not fit,” a copy of the claim shows.

Donlon, 71, filed a 251-page lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan Wednesday charging that Adams and top loyalists in the NYPD were running a “criminal enterprise.” The following day, Sheppard, who Donlon had accused of promoting himself to three-star chief and threatening to “kill” him at the 2024 NYC Marathon, said Donlon was suffered from “some cognitive issues.” Sheppard also claimed the FBI seized Donlon’s phones at one point.

Adams the following day claimed the former career FBI agent was “mentally not fit” and told a group of business leaders he dismissed him for refusing a mental health evaluation.

“This wasn’t spin. It was a deliberate and defamatory attack — weaponizing mental health to silence a whistleblower and deflect from the criminal misconduct Donlon exposed,” said Donlon’s lawyer John Scola.

“The facts speak for themselves: Donlon’s phones were never seized. No mental health evaluation was ever requested. And immediately after removing him as Commissioner, Adams appointed Donlon as Senior Advisor for Public Safety—a role that directly contradicts City Hall’s new narrative.”

Litigants are required to file a notice of claim with the city Comptroller’s office before filing a lawsuit. The claim alleges Adams and Sheppard “knowingly made false, malicious and reputationally damaging public statements.”

Donlon was appointed interim police commissioner Sept. 13 after Edward Caban’s phones were seized and he was forced to resign in the midst of the then-mushrooming federal investigation into corruption in the Adams administration.

Donlon presided as police commissioner for two months amid a period in which he claims in the lawsuit he was constantly undermined by Sheppard, then Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, the current Chief of Department John Chell and current Deputy Mayor Kaz Daughtry.

Adams selected former Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch as police commissioner Nov. 20 and gave Donlon a post at City Hall where he worked on obtaining law enforcement grants from federal and state agencies.

“There is no documentation, medical or otherwise, suggesting Mr. Donlon was impaired or was asked to seek treatment,” the notice of claim alleges. “No such concerns were raised until after he filed suit against the Mayor and his inner circle.”

In late April, as The News previously reported, Donlon was contacted by a City Hall human resources official and told his position was being eliminated. He departed city government in early May.

On Thursday, Donlon gave an hour-long interview to The News covering his tenure in detail. “He’s just grasping at straws, it’s pathetic,” Donlon said of Sheppard’s comments, “Of course he’s defaming me.

“Just about every day I was police commissioner, I was out in the community. Weekends. I never took a day off,” he added. “So, no, I wasn’t isolated. And no, the FBI never took my phones.”

Reps for Adams and the NYPD did not immediately reply to requests for comment.