Lawsuit Alleges NYPD Doctors Sexually Abused Officers

A lawsuit claims that NYPD doctors engaged in repeated sexual abuse of police officers during their biweekly appointments.

The case involves retired lieutenant Aguazanta, who is now 98 years old and has retired recently. The legal action was filed Friday in Manhattan Supreme Court.

The suit alleges that Aguazanta, who had neck surgery at the NYPD’s Viper unit—responsible for monitoring public housing cameras—was given mental health medications that impaired his ability to consent or resist abuses.

After starting treatment in 2018, Aguazanta began seeing Deputy Chief Surgeon Theobald Reich every other week. The retired lieutenant claims that during these visits, Reich would touch him inappropriately while asking him to “stand upright.”

In the lawsuit, there are claims that Reich made inappropriate comments, including expressing a preference for “brown skin” and even gifting Aguazanta a bottle of Cuban rum.

Aguazanta, who resides in Hempstead, has stated that he repeatedly said “no” during these encounters. However, he was reportedly fearful of losing his job if he reported the incidents. He recalls, “He told me, ‘You have the future in my hands.’ I needed work. I needed money. I needed a pension.”

Aguazanta retired in 2021 and is now seeking unspecified damages through this lawsuit. His attorney, John Scola, emphasized that the city must be held accountable for the indifference that allowed this abuse to occur.

Reich did not respond to inquiries from reporters, and the city has yet to address the matter publicly.