Facing mounting criticism from the left for his approach to policing, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a comprehensive review Monday of the NYPD’s use of force policies.
The review is expected to take months and will include opportunities for the public input, according to Mamdani’s office.
“When the government uses force against a New Yorker, the standard for accountability must be at its highest,” Mamdani said in a statement. “Every New Yorker deserves to know that force will be used lawfully, carefully and only when necessary.”
Mamdani ran for office with promises to reform the NYPD. But since taking office he has faced criticism for the NYPD’s surging enforcement of quality-of-life infractions and not yet delivered on his pledge to disband the NYPD’s controversial Strategic Response Group. In recent days Mamdani has faced calls to fire Commissioner Jessica Tisch over the NYPD’s response to protests following an ICE shooting in Marble Hill.
The announcement comes after the retirement of one of the NYPD officers facing disciplinary charges for the killing in 2024 of Win Rozario, a 19-year-old in the midst of a mental health crisis who was fatally shot by police.
The New York Attorney General’s office declined to prosecute the officers involved in Rozario’s death. But the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board approved misconduct charges against two officers — Salvatore Alongi and Matthew Cianfrocco — despite board staff finding the officers had acted within NYPD guidelines. The misconduct charges were brought last year. A trial date still has not been set.
Mayor Mamdani orders Review of NYPD Use of Force Policies
