The NYPD confirmed on Thursday that it has terminated dozens of officers who were hired despite having serious disqualifications noted during their recruitment process.
An internal probe revealed that 31 officers brought onto the force within the past two years had already received final disqualification notices, yet were still approved for employment. The department stated that once those final decisions were made, hiring them was against the law.
“The department was not legally allowed to hire these individuals and was forced to inform them that they could no longer continue as members of the NYPD,” a department spokesperson said.
Sources told 1010 WINS that Inspector Terrell Anderson, who previously oversaw the Candidate Assessment Division, made the decision to hire the disqualified applicants on his own, even though they had been officially notified they were ineligible.
That same source added that Anderson has now been reassigned and is facing significant disciplinary charges from within the department.
According to information provided to 1010 WINS, the disqualifications stemmed from serious issues in the applicants’ pasts, including failure to disclose criminal convictions, past arrests, job dismissals, multiple arrests, outstanding criminal summonses, and serious driving violations that led to license suspensions.
Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association, condemned the firings, saying that the fault lies not with the officers, but with the department’s flawed recruitment system. “These police officers aren’t responsible for the NYPD’s broken hiring process or the supervisors who made these decisions,” Hendry said.
He explained that the recruits believed they were eligible to serve, especially since the department had already hired and trained them. The union said it is weighing legal action to defend the affected officers and demand accountability from NYPD leadership.
“It is an absolute travesty that the department is trying to cover its tracks by summarily forcing them off the job, without affording them the same appeal process available to other applicants,” Hendry said.
The dismissals come amid mounting internal turmoil within the NYPD. Just days earlier, four former senior officials filed lawsuits alleging widespread misconduct and favoritism, including accusations that promotions were being sold for as much as $15,000.
Among the claims is that former Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, who stepped down in December after sexual misconduct allegations surfaced, routinely bypassed standard protocols to appoint unqualified associates to influential roles starting in 2023.
In a lawsuit brought by ex-Chief of Detectives James Essig, he described noticing an “unusually high number” of inexperienced officers being reassigned to the sex crimes division during that period.
The legal filings further allege that current leadership, including Chief of Department John Chell, has worked to undermine internal oversight and prevent scrutiny of the department’s actions.
{Matzav.com}