The previous head psychologist of the NYPD claims he was pressured out of his job in retaliation for blowing the whistle on the division’s psychological well being practices — together with allegedly being ordered to show confidential remedy data of law enforcement officials into disciplinary information.
Dr. Matthew James Graziano resigned because the director of the division’s well being and wellness part in April after he was accused of accumulating time beyond regulation whereas moonlighting as a psychotherapist, and the town is now looking for reimbursement, sources informed The Submit.
However the licensed psychologist mentioned that the NYPD made up these accusations and launched quite a few baseless complaints towards him as revenge for advocating for high quality psychological well being take care of law enforcement officials, in line with a lawsuit filed on June 23 in Manhattan Supreme Court docket. He’s looking for an unspecified quantity of damages.
“As soon as he began doing that, then they began retaliating towards him as a result of all of the sudden complaints began showing towards him,” his lawyer Nicole Brenecki informed The Submit.
Graziano, 45, who sees shoppers privately in New Jersey, joined the NYPD in 2022 as psychologist and was promoted to the manager function in 2024 — a place with a comfortable beginning wage of $180,000, in line with the town’s official job website.
In his management place, he began sounding the alarm about moral considerations — together with allegedly being pressured to breach confidentiality with law enforcement officials looking for assist from the well being and wellness part.
“There’s some issues that you’d speak in confidence to a psychologist that will usually be held confidential …however the NYPD was attempting to show it from confidential to disciplinary,” Brenecki mentioned. “So the information that have been confidential earlier than would turn into a part of a disciplinary file.”
Graziano additionally mentioned he referred to as out alleged gender discrimination inside the division, which solely resulted in him allegedly being focused as a result of he’s a homosexual man.
“As soon as he began truly complaining about their practices, that’s once they began making little feedback right here and there and being a bit nasty to him on that foundation,” Brenecki mentioned.
Graziano escalated his complaints to exterior entities together with the New York State Schooling Division’s Workplace of the Professions, the Inside Affair Bureau, the Equal Employment Alternatives workplace and the Workplace of the Inspector Normal.
In April, he was abruptly referred to as into a gathering together with his supervisors and informed he was being investigated for working one other job whereas cashing in on NYPD time beyond regulation. It’s unclear how a lot the town is demanding.
Brenecki mentioned Graziano “by no means violated any guidelines” or logged hours he didn’t work. The division was additionally conscious that he ran his personal follow when he was employed.
Graziano was informed he was being demoted to an entry stage job instantly. As an alternative of accepting the place, he give up on the spot, his lawyer defined.
“He needs nicely to all of the rank officers. He doesn’t suppose the way in which the NYPD is run is nice for them. He feels that they’re being exploited. They’re being mistreated,” Brenecki mentioned.
“How are they alleged to open up in regards to the issues they expertise on the job if that’s a part of a file that may later decide that they’re being terminated?”
The NYPD didn’t return a request for remark.
