By Sal Greco
Records trace how a leave dispute spiraled into charges, a plea deal, and questions about NYPD accountability.
A senior NYPD commander quietly signed a plea agreement this summer after internal investigators uncovered conflicting records over a detective’s paid-leave status and pension eligibility — an embarrassing paper trail that sources say exposes serious cracks in the department’s internal oversight.
Background: A Simple Leave Request Turns Into a Legal War
According to documents reviewed by The Finest Unfiltered, the conflict began when 20 year NYPD detective specialist Jaenice Smith sought an extended leave of absence. What started as a routine personnel matter ballooned into a full-blown investigation after multiple city agencies produced contradictory paperwork about the detective’s pay and service time.
An accompanying EEOC complaint filed by Detective Smith’s attorney Eric Sanders, alleged discrimination and retaliation tied to the handling of the leave. That federal filing prompted the department’s own probe, setting off a tug-of-war between the command staff, the Police Pension Fund, and the Department Advocate’s Office.
The Allegations
An internal Charges and Specifications document accuses Deputy Chief Scott Henderson of “failing to perform duties in a satisfactory manner,” “authorizing unauthorized work-from-home arrangements,” and “making or causing to be made false entries” related to attendance records. Investigators also cite “false or misleading statements” during an Internal Affairs interview — language that normally signals a career-ending offense.
The disciplinary case notes that the alleged conduct occurred while Chief Henderson supervised borough-level operations, directly affecting payroll accuracy and leave-tracking procedures.
The Paper Trail
The Police Pension Fund appears multiple times in the record.
A May 28 letter advised the detective that a leave adjustment could affect retirement eligibility; a June 6 follow-up reversed the decision; a third notice again changed the effective date. Unbelievably none of the letters matched the dates in the department’s own HR system.
Sergeant Guydee Surpris of the Internal Affairs Bureau, Special Investigations Unit requested that a non-disclosure administrative subpoena be issued to the Compliance Department, to release all subscriber information, billing information, call details and records, incoming and outgoing calls and texts for an “ official department investigation “. The sergeant alleged in said subpoena the records would assist in determining if subject officer communicated with identified persons of interest who also withdrew money from the checking account covering a period from November 2023 to April 2025 implying that somehow Detective Smith and Chief Henderson may have somehow been romantically linked without any such proof?
The Plea Deal
By late July 2025, Chief Scott Henderson entered into a Negotiated Plea Agreement acknowledging administrative violations. Under the deal, Henderson agreed to forfeit accumulated leave time and retire immediately. The agreement, signed by the officer’s attorney, the Department Advocate, and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, also placed the commander on a one-year dismissal probation.
The settlement effectively ended the case prior to it being tried put forth to an NYPD internal department trial.
The Fallout
This case will trigger fresh debate about transparency in NYPD discipline, while Detective Smith seeks to clear her name of any appearance of impropriety as the department claim of her “ theft of time “ is non-existent documented by Scott Henderson’s negotiated plea agreement. Rank-and-file officers have for years now privately questioned why senior brass can retire with a pension after admitting to misconduct that would get lower-ranking cops terminated or criminally charged.
What’s Next
The outcome is now being reviewed by oversight officials who are examining whether overlapping administrative systems allowed errors or favoritism to slip through. This seems to be a recurring theme under the leadership of NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and under the Eric Adams administration which has had a plethora of scandals through his four year term.
A request for comment over this matter was submitted to NYPD’s DCPI who have declined to comment. Meanwhile, Detective Smith is still being put through the department ringer despite already having 20 years established in the NYPD; and is not being allowed to retire with her good name.
Her attorney Eric Sanders said in a statement to TheFinestUnfiltered.Com :
“ Detective Smith was asked to be the face of compassion in the Department—caring for her dying mother on command. But now, the same Department seeks to brand her a thief. That’s not discipline—that’s punishment. They misused subpoena power, threatened her with arrest, insinuated a sexual relationship, and coordinated to strip her pension. They overreached at every level. The EEOC has a roadmap to expose institutional abuse, and we will see this through to its legal end.”