pogo88 A Brief History of Ethical Concerns Involving Eric Adams

The federal criminal charges against Mayor Eric Adams are a first for an occupant of City Hall and for Mr. Adams himself over his four-decade career in law enforcement and politics. But they are not the first time he has been investigated.

In 22 years with the New York Police Department, Mr. Adams rose to the rank of captain and served as vocal advocate for Black officers while leading two groups, the Guardians Association and 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care. He criticized department leadership and was also the subject of four internal investigations that he claimed were conducted as retaliation.

Investigators examined whether Mr. Adams broke a rule against associating with people involved with crimes, including the boxer Mike Tyson, who was convicted of rape, and Omowale Clay, an activist convicted of federal firearms violations. Mr. Adams and other members of 100 Blacks were investigated over another Black officer’s claim that they had harassed him.

Investigators did not prove that Mr. Adams had violated department rules in those matters.

“You do an analysis of my Internal Affairs Bureau investigations, you’ll see they all come out with the same thing,” Mr. Adams said in a 2021 interview with The New York Times. “Eric did nothing wrong.”

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But he was found guilty in 2006 by a Police Department tribunal of speaking for the agency without authorization after making critical comments to the news media the previous year about its handling of a terrorist threat. (He was cleared of charges of divulging official police business and misinforming the public.)

Mr. Adams was docked 15 days of vacation pay. He retired soon after and ran successfully in 2006 for a State Senate seat in Brooklyn.

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