Cops working extra shifts in the subway in the wake of several shocking crimes — including a woman fatally torched on a train — are having their hours cut, but the NYPD is promising replacements, sources told The Post.
The new rules that went into effect on Jan. 1 slashed the number of subway overtime hours cops can work in half, police sources said. Detectives are now being limited to 40 hours a month total OT and “no more than two transit details,” one longtime cop told The Post.
Officers were previously allowed to do four or six of the 7.5-hour underground shifts per month, the cop said.
The new rules come after The Post revealed shocking allegations that ex-top uniformed cop Jeffrey Maddrey was granting overtime to an underling for sexual favors.
Lt. Quathisha Epps, the NYPD’s top earner who made $403,515, including $204,453 in OT, filed an explosive Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint making the claims, The Post revealed in a front-page exclusive on Dec. 21.
The Post also revealed that First Grade Detective Ingrid Sanders, Maddrey’s driver, was the seventh-highest overtime earner in the department, raking in an eye-popping $163,414 in OT last year, boosting her total salary last fiscal year to $352,462, records show.
Also working for Maddrey, Ada Reyes made $42,500 as a new police officer in 2019 but her pay jumped to $154,405 in 2024, including $55,923 in overtime, city records show.
Through his lawyer, Maddrey has insisted the sex with Epps was “consensual” and denied that he was providing overtime for sex.
The police source said the department was punishing the wrong people.
“It’s a knee-jerk reaction that’s not well thought out because obviously random violent crime is surging,” the source said. “You’re punishing cops and detectives when the abusers were at the top.”
But the NYPD said Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch was reviewing overtime management policies and procedures, “to ensure all overtime is administered appropriately and to maintain honor and integrity throughout the NYPD.”
“Importantly, there will be no reduction in the number of police personnel patrolling the New York City transit system as more officers will be deployed on straight time to ensure subway safety,” the agency said.
Crime in the subway has been down overall so far this yet, but the system has been plagued by a surge in violent crimes recently, including:
- Debrina Kawam, 57, from Toms River, N.J., was set on fire on a subway car around 7:30 a.m. Dec. 22 as she slept on an idle F train at the Still Avenue station in Brooklyn. Guatemalan migrant Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, was charged with murder.
- Kamel Hawkins, 23, was charged with second-degree assault after he allegedly shoved a complete stranger onto the tracks for no reason at the 18th Street No. 1 train station shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 31, cops said.
- Assaults in the system jumped in December, from 35 to 49 for a 40% as of last Sunday over the same period last year, NYPD data show.
The new rules also limit the number of overtime administrative police officers can claim to 44 hours per month.
