Ex-N.Y.P.D. Leader Denies Sexual Abuse Accusations, Through His Lawyer

Jeffrey Maddrey, until last week the Police Department’s top uniformed officer, faced reporters for the first time since resigning. He did not say a word.

A former top New York Police Department official who resigned last week after being accused of sexually abusing female officers denied the misconduct allegations on Friday, although he let his lawyer do all the talking.

The former official, Jeffrey Maddrey, who until a week ago was the department’s highest-ranking uniformed officer, stood by quietly as the lawyer, Lambros Lambrou, railed against the accusations while speaking to reporters at his Lower Manhattan office.

The accusations against his client, Mr. Lambrou said, came from embittered subordinates, including a lieutenant who had engaged in overtime abuse, had wound up under investigation and had then said Mr. Maddrey coerced her into sex to “deflect her wrongdoing.”

“Those allegations are a lie,” said Mr. Lambrou, a personal injury lawyer who has represented Mr. Maddrey, whose title was chief of department, in other matters.

Mr. Maddrey’s abrupt departure in the face of the misconduct allegations set off several investigations and added to the turmoil engulfing the Police Department and the administration of his longtime friend Mayor Eric Adams.

Neither Mr. Maddrey, who wore a black suit and maroon tie and kept his hands clasped in front of him, nor his lawyer took questions on Friday during what Mr. Lambrou had billed as an “opportunity to gain first-hand information and insights.”