NYPD cop who slept with a witness was headed for termination until Commissioner Caban stepped in

An NYPD officer accused of having sex with a witness in a carjacking case he investigated was facing termination — until Police Commissioner Edward Caban swooped in and saved his career, the Daily News has learned.

Police Officer Willie Thompson was accused of “prohibitive conduct” and making false statements after it came to light that he was sleeping with a woman who saw two men carjack a motorist in Washington Heights on May 23, 2021, according to a recently released NYPD disciplinary report.

After a disciplinary hearing in NYPD headquarters Assistant Deputy Commissioner of Trials Jeff Adler recommended in writing that Thompson be fired.

But Caban overruled the recommendation, opting to hit the 15-year NYPD officer with disciplinary probation instead, meaning he would be fired if he’s found guilty of misconduct a second time within the next year.

“While a severe penalty is warranted for the misconduct, separation from the department is not necessary,” Caban wrote in his decision. “I approve of the findings, but disapprove the penalty.”

Two men had been arrested for the carjacking and the case had been handed over to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office when it became clear to prosecutors that Thompson was having some kind of relationship with a witness in the case, according to the disciplinary report.

In July 2021 Thompson accompanied the witness to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office to talk about a domestic violence case unrelated to the carjacking.

At the time, Assistant District Attorney Yuval Simchi-Levi saw the two in the office “behaving in a flirtatious manner” as well as “laughing and whispering” and “showing each other messages on their phones,” the report states.

But, prosecutors would learn, the relationship soured over the next three months.

Simchi-Levi, the prosecutor, testified at the disciplinary trial that both Thompson and the witness were supposed to meet with him on Sept. 14, 2021 to discuss the carjacking case, but Thompson said she wasn’t going to show up. The officer also warned the prosecutor that the witness tends to “exaggerate things,” the report states.

That morning, Simchi-Levi got a text from the witness who said that Thompson was “manipulative” and “did something he wasn’t supposed to do.”

The ADA got on the phone with the witness, who admitted that she and Thompson had been having sex. The two got to know each other after their first meeting at the Manhattan DA’s office and went out on several dates.

But Thompson was also involved with a woman with whom he had children, she told the ADA according to the report. When the two parted ways, Thompson warned her that “if she tried to disclose their relationship, no one would believe her.”

Simchi-Levi reached out to Thompson to get his side of the story, and the cop flatly denied the relationship. The next day however, Thompson called the ADA back, admitting to the relationship, according to the report.

As the Internal Affairs Bureau got involved, the witness accused Thompson of cornering her in a bodega near her home and threatening her, claiming “this was all happening because of you.”

“I’m under investigation and some officers from the precinct are going to come to your house and talk to you,” he threatened, the woman stated.

While Thompson pleaded guilty in the disciplinary proceeding to having a sexual relationship with a witness in a case he was investigating, he denied threatening the woman.

During his disciplinary trial, Thompson shrugged off the relationship, calling his lover a “peripheral witness who he did not view as useful for the criminal trial,” the report states.

Thompson, a Long Island native, also testified that the witness came on to him first and invited him to “hang out.” When ADA Simchi-Levi first asked him over the phone if he was having sex with the witness, he denied it because he was in front of his girlfriend and children, he testified.

Adler found Thompson guilty in a disciplinary proceeding of threatening the witness, but exonerated him of making a false claim since he admitted his relationship the next day.

Manhattan prosecutors informed the attorneys of the carjacking suspects about Thompson’s dalliance with the witness. The attorneys for the suspects, who were on Rikers Island facing high bail, asked for the bail to be lowered based on Thompson’s misconduct, but the application was denied, the report states.

The suspects ultimately pleaded guilty to lesser charges.

In his decision, Adler found Thompson’s behavior “deeply troubling in a way that damages the reputation and integrity of the department.”

“Aside from the harm directly caused to the complainant by his egregious conduct and exceedingly poor judgement, (Thompson) has negatively impacted a pending armed robbery prosecution by inexcusably choosing to engage in sexual encounters with a witness,” Adler wrote. “Because of his behavior (Thompson) has irreparably compromised his ability to handle police investigations in the future.”

An attempt to reach Thompson for comment was unsuccessful.

A source with knowledge of the case was surprised by Adler’s demands that he be terminated.

“The department gets a lot of these complaints,” the source said. “I don’t recall a department judge demanding termination because of it.”

Similar to his predecessor, former Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, Caban is beginning to spark notice for changing recommended penalties against cops accused of misconduct.

Four months before he changed Officer Thompson’s decision, Caban altered the penalty recommended for Sgt. Hugh Barry, who shot dead an emotionally disturbed woman in her Bronx apartment back in 2016.

Although Barry was acquitted at a criminal trial, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado found him guilty in an administrative proceeding of using poor tactical judgment and setting the killing in motion and recommended his termination.

Caban, who has the final say in all disciplinary matters, agreed with Maldonado’s recommendation but modified the penalty and allowed Barry to resign after a 30-day suspension, which will allow him to collect his pension in a few years.

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