As many as 10 percent of city cops are malcontents — or “zeroes” — who want to work as little as possible and still get paid, the NYPD’s recently retired chief of department said yesterday.

What’s worse, those “bad” cops often try to intimidate their “good” colleagues into slacking off, too, to lower standards and protect themselves from punishment, Joseph Esposito testified at the stop-and-frisk trial in Manhattan federal court.

Esposito, who retired as the NYPD’s highest-ranking uniformed officer last month, said the department consists of three groups: “superstars,” “good cops” and “zeroes.”

“You have 10 percent that will work as hard as they can . . . They love being cops and they’re going to do it no matter what.

“You have 10 percent on the other side that are complete malcontents that will do as little as possible.”