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What Happened:<\/strong> Former New York Police Department Commissioner Thomas Donlon sued Mayor Eric Adams and other top police officials on Wednesday, accusing Adams of running the force as a \u201ccriminal enterprise\u201d that the mayor used to \u201cconsolidate power, obstruct justice and punish dissent.\u201d<\/p>\n In the 251-page complaint, Donlon said the mayor used the department\u2019s Community Response Team for political gain. \u201cCRT became the enforcement arm of Defendant Adams\u2019 political strategy,\u201d the complaint says, \u201ca tool for projecting \u2018tough on crime\u2019 optics at the expense of civil rights and constitutional law.\u201d<\/p>\n It also calls the CRT a \u201crogue\u201d unit that answered \u201conly to City Hall.\u201d<\/p>\n The suit drew extensively from a recent ProPublica investigation, which detailed how the mayor championed the CRT despite concerns within the Police Department about the unit. Adams, former officials said, was so close to the unit he had access to a little-known livestream of the CRT\u2019s body-worn camera footage, a detail that Donlon cited in his legal complaint.<\/p>\n What They Said:<\/strong> \u201cThe Community Response Team speaks to the culture under Adams of willfully violating the constitutional rights of civilians and officers,\u201d John Scola, Donlon\u2019s lawyer, told ProPublica. That culture is: \u201cWe\u2019ll do whatever we want.\u201d<\/p>\n Background:<\/strong> In 2023, a senior NYPD official wrote a scathing internal audit after finding that CRT officers were wrongfully stopping New Yorkers and failing to document the incidents. Weeks later, Adams took to Instagram to boost the unit. \u201cTurning out with the team,\u201d he wrote, showing a photo of him wearing a wide smile and khaki pants, CRT\u2019s official uniform.<\/p>\n The official who wrote that audit was pushed out months later. He and other top former commanders recently sued Adams alleging favoritism and misconduct, charges the mayor denies.<\/p>\n Why It Matters:<\/strong> Donlon, a former FBI agent who held the job of police commissioner for only two months, from September to November 2024, lobbed his accusations against Adams as the mayor has been waging an uphill battle to keep his job. Adams was indicted last fall on federal charges of bribery, fraud and illegally taking campaign contributions from foreigners. He pleaded not guilty. He avoided trial by making a deal with President Donald Trump, who dropped the prosecution in exchange for Adams working with the administration on immigration enforcement. Still, he remains unpopular in the city and is running for reelection as an independent against a popular Democrat, Zohran Mamdani.<\/p>\n Response:<\/strong> In a statement, the mayor\u2019s office dismissed Donlon\u2019s claims.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are baseless accusations from a disgruntled former employee who \u2014 when given the opportunity to lead the greatest police department in the world \u2014 proved himself to be ineffective,\u201d the statement said. \u201cThis suit is nothing more than an attempt to seek compensation at the taxpayer\u2019s expense after Mr. Donlon was rightfully removed from the role of interim police commissioner.\u201d<\/p>\n Previously, Adam has defended the CRT. Asked about the unit at a press conference this spring, the mayor said, \u201cCRT is here.\u201d He continued, \u201cI support all my units.\u201d<\/p>\n The NYPD did not respond to requests for comment about the suit.<\/p>\n \n How Eric Adams Has Backed a Secretive NYPD Unit Ridden With Abuses<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n