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Four lawsuits filed by former NYPD chiefs on Monday describe a chaotic police department under Mayor Eric Adams’ administration that let officers engage in unconstitutional street stops while corruption and cronyism took hold within the ranks.
The lawsuits, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, allege friends of Adams, such as former Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey and former Police Commissioner Edward Caban, tapped unqualified officers for prestigious department jobs and worked to quell internal investigations. At the same time, officers who knowingly violated department policy were promoted to a unit created by the Adams administration aimed at responding to quality-of-life concerns in the city, according to one of the suits…