Mayor Zohran Mamdani has ordered a review of the New York City Police Department’s use of force for the first time in a decade amid renewed pressure from his progressive base for law enforcement reform.
asserted
Mamdani → order → reform
On Monday, the city said it would introduce a “package of reforms” in addition to the review, to “strengthen accountability when police officers are accused of serious misconduct”.
asserted
officers → say → misconduct
Recommended Stories
list of 4 items- list 1 of 4Mamdani, Irish PM play bingo, ‘split the G’ in New York
- list 2 of 4New York Mayor Mamdani under fire for attending October 7 vigil
- list 3 of 4ICE shooting of New York man in car with five-year-old sparks protests
- list 4 of 4DHS defends ICE shooting in NYC, says officers believed they were in danger
The New York Police Department (NYPD) is the largest police force in the United States.
asserted
Department → play → States
The reforms follow the retirement of a police officer involved in the shooting death of 19-year-old Win Rozario during a reported mental health crisis in 2024.
asserted
reforms → follow → 2024
“That officer retired before a disciplinary trial could take place,” the mayor’s office said in a statement.
uncertain
office → retire → statement
Among other measures Mamdani announced is $2.6m in additional funding for the Office of the Inspector General, which investigates NYPD policies and misconduct.
asserted
which → announce → policies
Monday’s statement also calls for a new notification system to ensure disciplinary hearings are completed before an officer retires, and it includes a renewed push for the department to comply with state-level reporting requirements about police-involved deaths.
asserted
department → call → deaths
The announcement comes amid pressure from Mamdani’s fellow progressives to enforce accountability at the city’s police department.
asserted
announcement → come → department
Much of the focus has fallen on a division within the NYPD called the Strategic Response Group, a rapid-response unit that addresses protests, major events and “civil disorder”.
asserted
that → fall → protests
Earlier this month, 17 state-level politicians and political nominees, including congressional candidates Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, called for the group to be disbanded.
asserted
group → include → candidates
Both Valdez and Chevalier were endorsed by Mamdani.
asserted
Valdez → endorse → Mamdani
In a statement, the politicians denounced the Strategic Response Group’s deployment during protests against a recent US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation.
asserted
politicians → denounce → operation
On October 8, an ICE officer shot 28-year-old Oscar Belgal while he was inside an SUV last week with his five-year-old son.
asserted
he → shoot → son
The shooting, which took place in New York’s Marble Hill neighbourhood, sparked days of demonstrations against ICE’s tactics, as well as a police response.
asserted
which → take → tactics
Chevalier wrote in a post on social media that she was “shoved to the ground by an officer” during the protests.
asserted
she → write → protests
She also claimed to have observed other instances of excessive violence.
asserted
She → claim → violence
“When I was in Marble Hill last night I saw NYPD officers rapidly escalating violence,” Chevalier said.
asserted
Chevalier → see → violence
“I witnessed unmarked law enforcement cars hitting protesters as NYPD officers pushed people out of its path.”
asserted
officers → witness → path
Mamdani condemned the shooting and called for Belgal’s release from federal custody.
asserted
Mamdani → condemn → custody
Calls for police chief’s removal
Critics have frequently pointed to such incidents as examples of why greater police oversight is necessary.
asserted
oversight → point → examples
Reported use of force within the NYPD has increased over the last decade, including physical force, the deployment of firearms, and the use of electrical weapons like tasers.
asserted
use → increase → tasers
There were 12,348 reported use-of-force incidents in 2025, compared with 4,087 in 2016, when the department first started collecting such statistics.
asserted
department → be → statistics
Earlier this month, the city reported the “fewest shooting incidents, shooting victims, and murders” in the first nine months of the year and in the third quarter of the year, compared with any time in recorded history.
asserted
city → report → history
Major crime, which includes murder, rape, felony assault and grand larceny, declined 9.4 percent in the third quarter and 6.6 percent compared with the same period last year.
asserted
which → include → period
Still, Chevalier and other progressive politicians remained critical of the excess force authorised under the city’s police leadership.
asserted
Chevalier → remain → leadership
They have called on Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who was originally appointed by Mamdani’s predecessor, Eric Adams, to step down.
asserted
who → call → predecessor
The commissioner is appointed by the mayor.
asserted
commissioner → appoint → mayor
She can be removed either by the mayor or the governor of New York State.
asserted
She → remove → State
According to recent reporting from The Atlantic magazine, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul made retaining Tisch as police commissioner a condition of her endorsement for Mamdani in the 2024 mayoral election.
uncertain
retaining → accord → election
In a statement to the magazine, Mamdani questioned that framing, saying Hochul’s support for keeping Tisch was “more of a recommendation” than a demand.
asserted
support → question → demand
A New York City Hall spokesperson told Al Jazeera that the use-of-force review was already in the works prior to the October 8 ICE shooting and the protests that followed.
asserted
that → tell → shooting
The Aporia
