New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani orders department-wide review of NYPD use of force policies

Jeenah Moon/Reuters/File

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani ordered a comprehensive review of the New York Police Department’s use-of-force policies, his office announced Monday.

The review – the first of its kind in about a decade – comes as Mamdani faces increasing pressure from his base, who say he has not done enough to reform public safety and the criminal justice system, both pledges he made when he ran for mayor last year.

The review is expected to be completed in the coming months and will engage community groups during the process.

Mamdani also announced several reforms aimed at increasing accountability when police officers are accused of misconduct. The proposed reforms include a change which would make it easier to complete the disciplinary process before an officer retires from the force.

The change is in response to the case of Win Rozario , a 19-year-old Queens man, who was shot five times and killed while experiencing a mental health crisis in his home in March 2024.

The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation declined to pursue criminal charges against the officers.

But last year, the Civilian Complaint Review Board voted to substantiate claims that officers, Salvatore Alongi and Matthew Cianfrocco used excessive force when they fatally shot Rosario. The officers reported Rozario had lunged at them with a pair of scissors.

In August, the CCRB was told Alongi retired in May, preventing the case against him from continuing. The case against Cianfrocco is expected to proceed as planned, according to a spokesperson for the CCRB.

In response to Alongi’s case, Mamdani ordered changes to the disciplinary process to help resolve cases before officers retire and to formalize referrals for decertification when officers retire with pending charges to prevent them from being rehired by other New York law enforcement agencies.

“When the government uses force against a New Yorker, the standard for accountability must be at its highest. Every New Yorker deserves to know that force will be used lawfully, carefully and only when necessary,” Mamdani said in a statement. “We have an obligation to Win’s family and to every New Yorker who calls for help in a moment of crisis. This review is about making sure our policies reflect that responsibility, that our officers have the guidance and training they need and that New Yorkers and their families can trust their city will treat them with care and dignity.”

Some supporters of Mamdani, including the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America have called on him to fire NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch following the shooting of a Dominican immigrant by federal officers in the Bronx on Thursday.

Although the NYPD was not involved in the operation, violent skirmishes with protestors broke out in the aftermath, which drew sharp criticism of the NYPD.

Mamdani has referred to DSA as his “political home.” But members of the chapter, including Democratic Congressional nominee Darializa Avila Chevalier – an ally of the mayor – have been critical of Tisch and the NYPD for what they describe as collaboration between federal immigration agents and police officers in response to protests following last week’s shooting.

Patrick Hendry, president of the New York City Patrolmen’s Association, which represents NYPD rank-and-file officers issued a statement Monday in opposition to the use-of-force review.

“There should be no review of the NYPD’s use-of-force policies without a corresponding review of the blatantly biased and unjust way those policies are interpreted by the Civilian Complaint Review Board,” Hendry said. “The mayor’s radical base wants a wholesale dismantling of the NYPD, and it’s clear this announcement is an attempt to appease them.”

On Monday, Mamdani also announced an increase in funding for the Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD, which will help increase staffing. And he ordered changes to ensure timely reporting of police-involved deaths to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. He also plans to standardize the release of information and final reports to families of those killed or seriously injured, following a critical incident.

Jeenah Moon/路透社/档案照片

纽约市市长佐兰·马姆达尼的办公室周一宣布，他已下令对纽约警察局的武力使用政策进行全面审查。

此次审查是近十年来首次进行此类审查，而此时马姆达尼正面临着来自其支持者的越来越大的压力，他们表示，他在改革公共安全和刑事司法系统方面做得不够，而这两项改革都是他在去年竞选市长时做出的承诺。

预计审查工作将在未来几个月内完成，审查过程中将有社区团体参与。

马姆达尼还宣布了几项旨在加强对警员不当行为问责的改革措施。拟议的改革措施包括一项变更，该变更将简化警员退休前完成纪律处分程序的流程。

这一改变是为了回应温·罗扎里奥的案件。温·罗扎里奥是一名19岁的皇后区男子，2024年3月，他在家中精神健康危机发作时被枪击五次身亡。

纽约州总检察长办公室特别调查部门拒绝对这些警官提起刑事诉讼。

但去年，公民投诉审查委员会投票证实了有关警官萨尔瓦托·阿隆吉和马修·西恩弗罗科在枪杀罗萨里奥时过度使用武力的指控。警官们报告称，罗萨里奥曾持剪刀向他们扑来。

8月份，CCRB获悉阿隆吉已于5月份退休，因此针对他的案件无法继续进行。CCRB发言人表示，针对西恩弗罗科的案件预计将按计划进行。

针对阿隆吉的案件，马姆达尼下令修改纪律处分程序，以帮助在警官退休前解决案件，并正式规定在警官退休时，如果存在未决指控，则应取消其资格，以防止他们被纽约其他执法机构重新雇用。

“当政府对纽约市民动用武力时，问责标准必须达到最高水平。每一位纽约市民都应该知道，武力的使用必须合法、谨慎，并且仅在必要时才使用，”马姆达尼在一份声明中表示。“我们对温的家人以及每一位在危机时刻寻求帮助的纽约市民都负有责任。此次审查旨在确保我们的政策体现这一责任，确保我们的警员获得所需的指导和培训，并确保纽约市民及其家人能够相信，他们的城市会以关怀和尊严对待他们。”

包括美国民主社会主义者协会纽约市分会在内的一些马姆达尼的支持者呼吁他解雇纽约市警察局长杰西卡·蒂施，此前联邦官员于周四在布朗克斯区枪杀了一名多米尼加移民。

尽管纽约警察局没有参与此次行动，但行动结束后与抗议者发生了暴力冲突，这招致了对纽约警察局的强烈批评。

马姆达尼称美国民主社会主义者协会（DSA）是他的“政治家园”。但该协会的成员，包括民主党国会候选人达里亚利扎·阿维拉·谢瓦利埃（市长的盟友），一直批评蒂什和纽约警察局，指责联邦移民官员和警察在应对上周枪击事件后的抗议活动时存在合作行为。

代表纽约市警察局普通警员的纽约市巡警协会主席帕特里克·亨德利周一发表声明，反对对武力使用进行审查。

亨德利表示：“如果不对市民投诉审查委员会公然带有偏见且不公正地解读纽约市警察局武力使用政策的方式进行相应审查，就不应该对纽约市警察局的武力使用政策进行审查。市长的激进支持者想要彻底解散纽约市警察局，很明显，这项声明是为了安抚他们。”

周一，马姆达尼还宣布增加纽约市警察局监察长办公室的经费，这将有助于增加人员配备。他还下令进行改革，确保及时向纽约州刑事司法服务部门报告涉及警方的死亡事件。此外，他还计划规范重大事件发生后向死伤者家属发布信息和最终报告的流程。