NYPD inspector investigated in psych eval scandal getting promoted

Last year, New York City Police Department Inspector Terrell Anderson was transferred and served department charges, blamed for allowing dozens of police recruits to continue in the hiring process despite failing psychological exams. On Friday, he’s getting a big promotion, and will be named a deputy chief.

That’s a career turnaround for Anderson, whose allies say was trying to clean up the NYPD’s disorderly, racially biased psych exam process which serves as a screening for the police academy. A City & State investigation published in August of 2025 found that NYPD candidate psychological screenings were mostly performed by unlicensed psychologists who were under-supervised and overworked, in some cases earning thousands of hours in cumulative overtime.

“Inspector Anderson’s promotion is testament that if you honorably stand your ground against the powers that be, you will be rewarded,” Rev. Kevin McCall, a police reform advocate, told City & State. “It seems that the mayor is placing a precedent on rewarding whistleblowers instead of ostracizing and penalizing them as we have seen in the past.”

A formal public announcement of Anderson’s promotion has not been made but the NYPD shared details Monday evening in an internal notice reviewed by City & State. Podcaster Sal Greco and the Daily News first reported on the promotion.  

On Monday, NYPD whistleblower Edwin Raymond was sworn in as sheriff of New York City, after being appointed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Raymond was persecuted for exposing NYPD misconduct, stood his ground, and was ultimately rewarded with a significant promotion. City Hall did not respond to a request for comment on whether promoting whistleblowers was a priority in the Mamdani administration. 

Anderson declined to comment on the move, and referred City & State to the NYPD press office which did not provide a response.

NYPD whistleblowers like Frank Serpico or Adrian Schoolcraft have been forced out or sidelined. Joseph Trimboli marks one, apparently rare exception. Trimboli spent years trying to investigate the corrupt "Loser's Club" ring of officers (including Michael Dowd) but was blocked by his own superiors, who ignored his reports and even accused him of misconduct to discredit him in the 1990s. After the Mollen Commission vindicated him, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly promoted Trimboli and explicitly stated the promotion was to recognize Trimboli's "faith in the law" and "steadfast faith in what is right" when others looked away. 

The NYPD sent officers who had been cleared by Anderson after failing initial screenings a letter in July 2025 placing them on modified duty and notifying them they had 30 days to resign or they would be fired, citing their failed psych exams. The department told The New York Times the officers shouldn’t have been hired in the first place for many reasons going beyond the psych evaluations, such as drug use and lying about criminal records. The Police Benevolent Association filed a lawsuit to stop the terminations which was settled in December of 2025 allowing the recruits to return to work. 

Anderson, who had presided over the NYPD’s Candidate Assessment Division and made the reversals was originally suspended with pay and was brought up on departmental charges. But the case was dismissed in December 2025 when he returned to work in Patrol Borough Brooklyn North, where he’ll be serving as second in command, according to the Daily News. 

One of the officers who returned to work in December praised Anderson for raising concerns. 

“I entered the academy last spring and I sat for five months waiting for the courts to decide my fate. Since I was a kid, I always dreamed of becoming a police officer.  They were pressuring us to quit or to take civilian jobs instead, but I was not bowing down,” said the officer, who was granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. “We are all thriving now on the job. Inspector Anderson was right to question the evaluation process and all they did was waste our time and Anderson’s.” 

Anderson is Black, and the fraternal organization for Black officers has long criticized the department’s hiring practices as harmful to applicants of color.

“Terrell Anderson challenged policies that continue to discriminate against and oppress officers and candidates of color as they are a direct cause for black officers being underrepresented by 7.5% in the NYPD,” NYPD Guardians Association President Patrick Gordon told City & State.

The NYPD assembled a task force to examine Candidate Assessment Division processes and personnel in the Fall of 2025, two former division employees told City & State. The NYPD did not respond when asked what the results of the task force were, if any, nor did it comment on the status of the 31 candidates returned to duty after being suspended.

The NYPD press office cited a New York State Education Law statute that they claim allows unlicensed, student psychologists to practice psychology under supervision in New York.  A different state statute calls for only “fully licensed” or “board-permitted” psychologists in police psychological assessment roles. However, the NYPD seems to be moving towards more licensed psychologists.

An analysis of the Candidate Assessment Division’s personnel changes over the past year reveals that of the five new psychologists hired, four are licensed to practice psychology in New York State.  Three of the five unlicensed psychologists who were students working towards their licenses have since passed their boards and become licensed psychologists with New York State’s Office of the Professions.