The New York Police Department's highest-paid employee, who put in more than $400,000 last year, submitted his resignation this week amid an internal affairs investigation into his astronomical overtime hours, the Post reported.
Officials said Lieutenant Quatisha Epps is nearing her 20th year with the department and plans to retire, but retiring early will affect her pension, and officers who reach 20 years with the department will be paid $12,000 a year. Additional fees will apply.
Leaving money on the table is apparently not unusual for Mr. Epps, but he raised eyebrows last year when he paid about $204,000 in overtime at a government job. Office of NYPD Commissioner Jeffrey Madleythe payroll records will be displayed.
Sources told The Post that the cap was placed on Epps' extensive overtime hours following an exclusive report last month about her salary. She was also told she would be returned to patrol, which officials said was a decidedly unpleasant prospect after a cushy desk job.
“She had no intention of going out on patrol,” a source told the Post.
Epps, 51, was also subject to an internal affairs investigation regarding overtime work, officials said.
Records show she worked nearly 1,627 hours of overtime on top of her regular hours last year, or an average of about 74 hours a week.
With overtime and a base salary of $164,477, Ms. Epps' total compensation exceeded $400,000, making her the highest paid NYPD employee.
By comparison, her boss, Mr. Madrid, earned about $292,000 that year, records show.
Epps' spectacular overtime work irritated many rank-and-file officers.
“What kind of administrative work requires you to be there 115 to 120 hours a month to spend that kind of money?” one Bronx police officer complained to the Post last month.
Due to his patrol duties and the impending investigation, Epps filed papers Monday requesting a vested separation retirement, according to information obtained by the Post.
Her last day will be January 14th.
Retiring early for the first time in 19 years means she will receive about half of what she had put into her pension, but she will still collect about $16,000 a month, the people said.
The ministry has set a 30-day investigation period before the pension becomes effective.
Epps declined to comment when contacted by The Post on Wednesday.
The NYPD did not respond to requests for comment.
— Additional reporting by Amanda Woods
