Former NYPD commissioner who filed whistleblower complaint against city sues Eric Adams for defamation

Thomas Donlon, who served a brief stint as interim head of the New York Police Department during Eric Adams’ tumultuous term, has expanded his legal attack on the former mayor with a defamation lawsuit.

Donlon, who served as interim NYPD commissioner for two months in 2024 following the resignation of Edward Caban, alleges in a suit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court that Adams and former NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Tarik Sheppard publicly besmirched Donlon’s character in retaliation of a whistleblower lawsuit he filed against the city.

In July 2025, Donlon, an ex-FBI agent, filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act containing explosive allegations that Adams and members of the NYPD brass ran the department like a criminal enterprise.

After Donlon filed the suit, Sheppard said during a live television appearance that Donlon was showing “many signs of cognitive issues” and that the FBI had seized Donlon’s phones. And at a closed-door meeting with civic leaders, Adams said Donlon had recently refused to take part in a mental health check-up, according to court filings.

“The falsity of Defendants’ statements is not a close question. No medical evaluation was ever requested,” Donlon’s defamation lawsuit reads. “No mental-health referral was made. No contemporaneous documentation exists raising concerns about Plaintiff’s cognition or capacity. No such concerns were voiced while Plaintiff served as Commissioner.”

In his RICO suit, which is still pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Donlon alleges that during his short tenure as NYPD commissioner he uncovered a coordinated scheme to promote politically connected officers without merit, obstruct internal oversight and interfere in misconduct investigations.

Donlon is seeking at least $15 million in damages in the defamation suit. John Scola of the Law Office of John A. Scola represents Donlon in both the defamation suit and whistleblower complaint.

A spokesperson for the city’s Law Department said Donlon’s suit is under review and declined to comment further. An Adams representative, reached on Wednesday, did not comment on the case.