One of the highest-ranking members of the NYPD is being eyed by Brooklyn prosecutors for his role in getting a retired cop cleared of gun charges, The Post has learned.
The probe centers around an incident from the night before Thanksgiving, when former NYPD Officer Kruythoff Forrester allegedly pulled a gun on a trio of kids in Brownsville, according to sources with knowledge of the ordeal.
Chief Jeffrey Maddrey — who has been bragging to others in the department of his impending promotion with the incoming Eric Adams administration — got wind of the collar, showed up at the 73rd Precinct and ordered officers to void the arrest, sources tell The Post.
Just over 45 minutes later, Forrester was cut free, sources said.
Accompanying the off-duty, three-star chief that night to the stationhouse was Deputy Chief Scott Henderson, commanding officer of Brooklyn North Patrol Borough, sources said.
It’s unclear how Maddrey — who was tapped to run the NYPD’s community outreach last year despite prior scandals involving romantic indiscretions — learned of Forrester’s arrest or how the two men know each other.
The Civilian Complaint Review Board has opened a probe into the incident and referred the officers’ actions, including Maddrey’s involvement, and the gun charge Forrester faced to the Brooklyn DA’s Office Tuesday evening for potential criminal charges, sources said.
A DA spokesman confirmed Wednesday that the office has received the referral.
Maddrey’s intervention, first reported by The City, is one of the latest examples of the questionable company one of the most visible members of the NYPD keeps.
On Monday evening, Maddrey emceed and DJed for the NYPD’s holiday event in Times Square alongside Capt. Tarik Shepard — who, sources say, is accused of slamming a handcuffed protester’s head into an MTA bus and calling her a “b—h,” as well as improperly using a Taser on another demonstrator in a pair of separate incidents during the George Floyd protests last summer.
“This is Community Affairs! This is what we do!” Maddrey exclaims in one of the videos posted on Facebook, as Shepard cheers.
The gun case allegedly involving Forrester unfolded on Nov. 24 on Saratoga Avenue, where a trio of boys, ages 12, 13 and 14, were horsing around outside a real estate office that’s owned by the retired cop’s family, sources said.
At one point, one of the boys accidentally tossed a basketball into a camera set up on the outside of the storefront and ran off down Pacific Street.
Forrester then allegedly chased after the boys, came up behind them and threatened them with a gun, possibly firing at least one shot, sources said.
The 12-year-old boy sprinted home and called 911, and the other two ran off in a different direction, according to the sources.
The three kids independently gave cops identical accounts of the encounter and described the gun, which matched the description of the loaded pistol found on Forrester when cops questioned him, according to sources.
Forrester never said he feared for his safety or announced himself as current or former law enforcement, according to sources, who added that the ex-cop denied pulling a firearm.
Investigators have a video showing Forrester leaving his storefront and returning — but it doesn’t show the confrontation between him and the kids, sources said. In another video, first reported by The City and found by investigators, the kids can be heard yelling that Forrester had a gun.
NYPD officials said neither Maddrey nor Henderson ordered Forrester to be released following his arrest.
“They ordered investigators, whose very job is to uncover misconduct, to look further into the incident and found that the facts relayed by the teenagers [and preteen] were contradicted by the retired officer and could not be verified by the video, shot-spotter or any other witness,” said police spokesman Sgt. Edward Riley.
“Based on that, the arrest was voided and the retired officer was released.”
But sources dispute that account, telling The Post Forrester was cut free just over 45 minutes after Maddrey, who was off duty, arrived at the precinct — and that paperwork notes the arrest was “voided as per Chief Maddrey.”
Forrester could not be reached for comment, and the NYPD did not respond to questions about the chief’s relationship with the retired officer.
The NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau is also looking into the incident.
Maddrey was docked 45 days in 2017 for failing to report that a female subordinate pulled a gun on him after he ended his seven-year affair with her.
He was also investigated in 2016, when he served as commander of the Brooklyn North Patrol Borough, for chasing after “pregnant” and “married” underlings.
