Photo shows dissident sparked dispute between NYPD commissioner and top officials – while mayor downplays dispute

This was the photobomb that detonated the NYPD leadership.

An image posted online appears to show the moment acting NYPD Commissioner Tom Donlon was excluded from a photo op at the New York City Marathon – which, according to sources, led to a heated public scuffle between him and the department's chief of staff Tarik Sheppard .

Donlon's scowling face can be seen between the shoulders of Sheppard and Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry in the photo taken Sunday of the NYPD running club group at the start of the Staten Island marathon and shared on X by a senior law enforcement official.

Sources said Sheppard forced his way into the photo, pushing the interim top cop into the background.

The commissioner asked Sheppard to get out and may have poked him in the arm, sources said.

The perceived image diss led to an argument between Donlon and Sheppard, which sources said had to be physically separated by NYPD Department Chief Jeffrey Maddrey.

Mayor Eric Adams downplayed the public uproar that unfolded before the marathon spectators' eyes, resembling an argument between a married couple.

“Just because you have an argument with your spouse, your child or your business partner, doesn't mean you don't love them,” he said Monday during his off-topic weekly news conference.

“If that was a sign that you don’t care about the other person in your life, then we’re all in trouble.”

However, sources said there was no love lost between Donlon and Sheppard, his newly installed chief of staff, who has often had heated moments.

An NYPD veteran claimed that the mayor quietly promoted Sheppard to acting chief of staff despite the interim commissioner's objections.

“The mayor completely created this chaotic situation,” a former NYPD supervisor with more than 40 years of experience claimed Monday.

“This is the most disrespectful act towards a police commissioner I have ever seen. The mayor who calls himself an ex-cop should be ashamed for allowing this to happen in the NYPD. It’s obvious the mayor has checked out and is more concerned about staying out of jail.”

Adams said he subsequently spoke with both Donlon and Sheppard about his expectations for how they should show “decency,” but declined to elaborate on that conversation.

He also said Donlon could reprimand Sheppard if he believed he had done something wrong – a claim the NYPD vet said was unrealistic given that Adams had used Sheppard.

The hostility stems from a reorganization of the NYPD after federal agents raided the home of former Commissioner Edward Caban in September, leading to his resignation.

Adams named Donlon, a respected former FBI official, as interim commissioner – a decision that sources said unsettled many senior NYPD officials, including Maddrey and Sheppard, who were largely given free rein under Caban.

After the stopgap top cop laid down the law at an early meeting, disgruntled executives launched a behind-the-scenes pressure campaign that led to the firing of Donlon's leadership team, including his former chief of staff, sources said.

Amid the chaos, Sheppard rose from deputy commissioner of public affairs to acting chief of staff — a move that caused a stir within the NYPD as many police officers only learned about it from social media, according to sources.

Multiple sources said Donlon has since relied on Maddrey, Sheppard and other allied officials to lead the NYPD because he was unfamiliar with the department's day-to-day operations.

And Donlon can't get rid of troublesome officials because Adams won't let him, even though the mayor wants him to stay until at least Jan. 1, sources said.

Sheppard, one of Adams' friends, has faced allegations of inappropriate, angry behavior in the past.

According to a federal lawsuit, a protester accused Sheppard of calling her a “b–” and hitting her head on a bus window during the George Floyd protests in 2020.

Civilian watchdogs deemed those allegations against Sheppard “unfounded” — meaning they could not prove his guilt but did not exonerate him, records show.

However, they backed up another protester's claim that Sheppard attacked her without giving any orders before verbally abusing her – an incident that was captured on video, records show.

Records show Sheppard received no disciplinary action for the incident.

When federal agents raided several city officials, including Caban, in September, Sheppard called a Post reporter seeking comment a “fucking scumbag.”

Shortly afterward, Adams called Sheppard's language “inappropriate” and claimed to have had a “very stern conversation” with the NYPD's public affairs office asking him to apologize.

The Post has not heard from Sheppard. On Monday, he neither answered nor answered the calls of the reporter he called as a scumbag.

And on Monday, Adams claimed he had never heard of Sheppard disparaging the reporter or calling a woman a “b–.”

“If these incidents had occurred, he should have been held responsible,” he told reporters.

Donlon, 71, has long stopped liking Sheppard, 48, a source told The Post.

“I know that for a fact,” the source said. “How is this guy (Sheppard) in charge of discipline now when he can’t sort out his own things? The guy calls you a dirty scumbag, now he’s pushing an old man around.”