Top N.Y.P.D. Officials Have Tense Public Argument at Marathon

Commissioner Thomas Donlon and his acting chief of staff, Tarik Sheppard, had to be separated by another official, said people familiar with the dispute.

New York City’s interim top police official and his acting chief of staff got into a verbal dispute at the New York City Marathon on Sunday morning that became so heated that it was broken up by another high-ranking officer.

Commissioner Thomas Donlon and the aide, Tarik Sheppard, fought over where they would stand for photos taken at the finish line of the race, according to two people who were briefed on the incident. Mr. Sheppard disputed that account and said the episode stemmed from a minor disagreement about where and when to have a meeting.

Dozens of people watched as the men argued and Jeffrey Maddrey, the chief of department, separated them, according to the people.

“The matter was promptly discussed and resolved,” the Police Department said in a statement. The department said there was no “physical altercation.”

Mayor Eric Adams, asked about the argument on Monday, said that the officials “both know my expectation on how one should communicate,” adding, “Human beings: We have arguments, we have disputes.”

The public spat between two such high-ranking members of the department hinted at the chaos that has defined the department over the past year.

Mr. Donlon, a Bronx native who has an extensive background in federal law enforcement, became the interim police commissioner after Edward Caban resigned in September. Mr. Caban quit after federal agents seized his phone as part of a criminal investigation into the mayor and his administration. Federal agents also seized materials from Mr. Donlon’s homes in an unrelated search in September.

Mr. Donlon has set a hard line for top officials, saying the department would speak with a single voice after a series of public verbal attacks on reporters and perceived political enemies. He has been a fixture at police events. Photos on his social media account have shown him meeting with officers and touring parts of the city where the police have been focusing resources, including Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, where officers have conducted raids on brothels.

Mr. Sheppard was promoted under Mr. Donlon to three-star acting chief. His duties as chief of staff are unclear. He is also the department’s deputy commissioner of public information, a civilian position that he took in August 2023, just four months after he was appointed deputy inspector.

Mr. Sheppard has had a fast rise: It has taken years for others in similar positions to obtain a three-star rank.

He has been combative with the media, cursing at a New York Post reporter who had reached out to another chief for comment on an article. In September, during Mr. Sheppard’s tenure as head of the public information office, two reporters were briefly barred from Police Headquarters, but department officials quickly rescinded the order.

When asked about the marathon incident on Sunday, Mr. Sheppard played it down.

“Sometimes we disagree in the Police Department, like everywhere,” he said in a text message, adding that “a few minutes later, the commissioner and I were together and it’s business as usual.”

William K. Rashbaum, Michael Wilson and Emma G. Fitzsimmons contributed reporting.

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