Exclusive | NYPD cops in disgraced chief Jeffrey Maddrey’s office unplugged GPS tracking devices on vehicles: sources

NYPD officers in disgraced ex-Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey’s office dismantled the GPS tracking devices on their unmarked department vehicles — and used the cars as their personal rides, The Post has learned.

Dozens of automobiles had no “automatic vehicle location devices” that are used by the department to track its fleet, rendering them untraceable, three sources told the Post.

The NYPD officers were “using [the cars] for personal purposes” while working for Maddrey, who became chief of department in 2023, a source said. 

The revelation emerged in the wake of Maddrey’s resignation last month, after The Post revealed allegations of a sex-for-overtime scandal in his office.

“It’s been confirmed that there were no AVLs,” a second source said. “A lot of people didn’t swipe in or out. It’s been very difficult to track their movements.”

The vehicles have since been returned to the department’s pool, a third police source told The Post Saturday.

The NYPD has “zero tolerance for the misuse of agency resources,” a department spokesperson said.

“Last week, the police commissioner directed a comprehensive audit of department vehicles to ensure strict compliance with agency policies. Any allegations of misconduct are investigated by the Internal Affairs Bureau.”

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch sent out a memo Thursday announcing that the NYPD is “undertaking a review of all unmarked vehicle usage.”

Department vehicles must have AVLs “unless otherwise authorized” by Tisch herself — and must be “transmitting vehicle information,” the memo stated.

And the department’s technology bureau will begin submit “a monthly AVL exception report to document who isn’t properly being tracked, the memo added.

The GPS devices consist of a small box and an antenna — and are usually placed inside vehicles, a retired detective told The Post. “If you look for them you can disconnect them,” he said. “Sometimes people disconnect them because they don’t want to be tracked.”

The movement of personnel in Maddrey’s office became an issue after the department’s highest paid employee, administrative Lt. Quathisha Epps came under questioning for pocketing a shocking $403,515 in fiscal year 2024, including in $204,453.48 in overtime pay.

Epps then told The Post in painful detail that Maddrey demanded sex for overtime between June 2023 and Dec. 16, 2024, including some of the same allegations in a federal Equal Opportunity Employment discrimination claim against the city.

Maddrey has called the sex “consensual” and denied any sex abuse.

The Southern District of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the NYPD opened investigations following the Post reports.