Mamdani stands by NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch amid demands for her removal
By Gloria Pazmino, CNN
New York (CNN) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has “no plans” to change who is in the charge of the New York Police Department, he told reporters Tuesday.
Asked multiple times whether he would consider removing NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch from her post, Mamdani pointed to the city’s record low crime rates as well as the the work of the NYPD and his administration over the past 10 months.
“Jessica Tisch is the police commissioner, I have no plans to change that,” Mamdani said before a visit at a senior citizen center in Queens.
Pressed about whether he still had faith in Tisch’s work, Mamdani walked away from the microphones and cameras.
For weeks, Mamdani has been under pressure from some of his supporters and key members of his base. The New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America has called on Mamdani to remove Tisch from the post after federal immigration officers shot and injured a man in the Bronx last week during a targeted operation.
Although the NYPD was not involved in the immigration operation, police responded to protests that formed in the aftermath of the shooting, getting into violent confrontations with demonstrators and at one point, aggressively pushing Democratic Congressional nominee Darializa Avila Chevalier to the ground. Chevalier, a close ally of Mamdani has also called for Tisch’s removal.
Mamdani and Tisch are ideologically opposed, but during the first 10 months of his administration they have managed to keep a working relationship which has helped deliver some of the lowest crime rates in the city’s history.
“The reason that I made the decision to have Jessica Tisch as the police commissioner was because of her record of uprooting corruption from the upper echelons of the NYPD while lowering crime across our city,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani is also facing questions about his promise to disband the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group, an elite unit within the department originally established to handle counter-terrorism operations, active shooters, and citywide mobilizations for major public disorder.
In recent years, the unit has been the target of public scrutiny for their aggressive response and policing of demonstrations, with some critics saying the unit suppresses people’s right to free speech.
Mamdani said Tuesday he remains committed to disbanding the unit.
The-CNN-Wire
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