New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly stated he would have the last word on all New York Police Department (NYPD) decisions — not Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
He made the comments during an interview with The New York Times at City Hall.
In a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times, the mayor said that he was willing to institute policy changes at the Police Department if he and the commissioner, Jessica Tisch, could not reach an agreement.
“Yes, ultimately I hold the final decision no matter which department or agency we’re speaking about,” Mr. Mamdani said, speaking from his offices at City Hall.
He was specifically responding to a question about whether to dismantle a unit known as the Strategic Response Group, which polices protests and other mass events and has been faulted for using heavy-handed tactics. Ms. Tisch, who was also police commissioner under former Mayor Eric Adams, has been dubious in the past about getting rid of the entity.
The mayor remains committed to disband the SRG, a promise he made on the campaign trail. In January, he told reporters, “We need to disband the SRG, and I’m currently in conversations with the police commissioner about the ways in which we can do so that are operational,” according to City & State NY.
The SRG issue is not the only point of contention between Mamdani and Tisch. Mamdani also supports abolishing the NYPD’s gang database, a system with more than 16,000 entries, Politico reported. The database has faced criticism for unfairly targeting racial minorities.
Hellbound and Down 