By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-10-13 02:47:13 | Updated at 2026-10-13 06:46:48
4 hours ago
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch present quarterly crime statistics in New York City on Oct. 6, 2026. Michael Appleton/Mayor’s Office
Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday called for a comprehensive review of policies and practices related to police use of force and announced reforms he said were meant to strengthen accountability and independent oversight of the New York Police Department (NYPD).
“Every New Yorker deserves to know that force will be used lawfully, carefully and only when necessary,” said Mamdani in a statement Oct. 12 announcing the review, which he called the first such review in a decade.
The move comes as the mayor faces criticism from the family of Win Rozario, who died in March 2024 after Rozario called the NYPD for help during a mental health crisis. According to the attorney general’s office, two officers shot Rozario five times as he approached them with a pair of scissors, after having been shocked with a stun gun. On Oct. 8, his family rallied at NYPD headquarters calling for action.
One of the officers who responded to the call, Salvatore Alongi, retired in May, avoiding a disciplinary trial before the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB). The board, which reviews complaints of police misconduct, found that the officers involved, Alongi and Matthew Cianfrocco, acted with inappropriate force.
It was the NYPD’s responsibility to alert the complaint review board of the officer’s retirement, but due to human error, the board was not informed until August.
“When we make a mistake, we need to acknowledge it. We should have notified the CCRB before the Pension Board considered Officer Alongi’s disability pension so that CCRB could take whatever steps it deemed appropriate,” said Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch in a statement.
Mamdani said the review of NYPD policy is to ensure “that New Yorkers and their families can trust their city will treat them with care and dignity.”
Part of the reforms the mayor announced include a new notification system at NYPD to make sure the disciplinary process takes place before an officer accused of misconduct retires.
Mamdani also announced that the NYPD will shore up its practice of alerting the state to decertify an officer who retires with pending disciplinary charges. Decertification of his license to work in law enforcement means the officer can’t avoid scrutiny and just be rehired in law enforcement somewhere else.
Mamdani also said the Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD (OIG-NYPD) will receive additional funding of $2.6 million to triple its staff.
Supporters Wanted Speedier Reform
Mamdani has faced criticism from supporters for not taking more action to reform the NYPD, and especially for retaining Tisch, former Mayor Eric Adams’s police commissioner. When Tisch announced in June the hiring of 580 additional officers, the New York Democratic Socialists of America, of which Mamdani is a member, pushed back against the mayor. The plan to hire additional officers was later canceled.
One of Mamdani’s campaign promises was to establish a Department of Community Safety, which was to take over some of the community outreach handled by the NYPD. In March, he set up a much-downgraded version in the Office of Community Safety. The office houses the B-Heard program (Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division), which has teams of EMTs and mental health professionals trained to handle mental health crises.
The office is tasked with leading the city’s work helping people struggling with mental health, cases that often end up in the hands of the NYPD once the situation escalates to a 911 call.
