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Mayor Mamdani orders review of NYPD use of force policies
By
Michael Sol Warren
Published Oct 12, 2026
Modified Oct 12, 2026
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Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
By
Michael Sol Warren
Published Oct 12, 2026
Modified Oct 12, 2026
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Facing mounting criticism from the left for his approach to policing, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a comprehensive review Monday of the NYPD’s use of force policies.
The review is expected to take months and will include opportunities for the public input, according to Mamdani’s office.
“When the government uses force against a New Yorker, the standard for accountability must be at its highest,” Mamdani said in a statement. “Every New Yorker deserves to know that force will be used lawfully, carefully and only when necessary.”
Mamdani ran for office with promises to reform the NYPD. But since taking office he has faced criticism for the NYPD’s surging enforcement of quality-of-life infractions and not yet delivered on his pledge to disband the NYPD’s controversial Strategic Response Group. In recent days Mamdani has faced calls to fire Commissioner Jessica Tisch over the NYPD’s response to protests following an ICE shooting in Marble Hill.
The announcement comes after the retirement of one of the NYPD officers facing disciplinary charges for the killing in 2024 of Win Rozario, a 19-year-old in the midst of a mental health crisis who was fatally shot by police.
The New York Attorney General’s office declined to prosecute the officers involved in Rozario’s death. But the city’s Civilian Complaint Review Board approved misconduct charges against two officers — Salvatore Alongi and Matthew Cianfrocco — despite board staff finding the officers had acted within NYPD guidelines. The misconduct charges were brought last year. A trial date still has not been set.
Alongi filed his retirement papers in August 2025, according to The City Reporter, but the NYPD failed to notify the CCRB. He left the force before a disciplinary trial on the misconduct charges could be held.
"The killing of Win Rozario was a tragedy, and our thoughts are with his family,” Dakota Gardener, a spokesperson for the CCRB, said in a statement. “The CCRB has since learned that Police Officer Salvatore Alongi has retired and therefore will no longer be part of the ongoing administrative trial. The trial of Police Officer Matthew Cianfrocco will continue as planned."
Mamdani spokesperson Sam Raskin said the NYPD has recently implemented a new notification system meant to ensure the completion of disciplinary proceedings before an officer retires.
The Mamdani administration also plans to tighten the process of notifying state authorities when an officer retires while facing disciplinary charges. The mayor’s office said this is meant to stop officers who leave the NYPD while facing serious disciplinary charges from being hired by another police department in the state.
The New York City Police Benevolent Association reiterated its longstanding criticism of the Civilian Complaint Review Board, saying any review of the NYPD should also include the police watchdog. Patrick Hendry, the union’s president, said the PBA has alerted the Mamdani administration to several examples of “CCRB’s dysfunction and anti-police bias.”
“The mayor’s radical base wants a wholesale dismantling of the NYPD, and it’s clear this announcement is an attempt to appease them,” Hendry said in a statement. “It won’t work, and it won’t make New Yorkers any safer.”
The Mamdani administration also said it will send an additional $2.6 million to the Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD, which reviews, studies and makes recommendations to improve police practices. The funding will triple the office’s current headcount, restoring staffing to its historic peak according to Mamdani’s office.
The NYPD also plans to formalize its process for notifying the public of “critical incidents” in which officers kill or seriously injure a person.
Tagged
Politics
new york city
public safety
Michael Sol Warren
Michael Sol Warren covers New Jersey for WNYC and Gothamist, and previously reported on issues around the Garden State for NJ Spotlight News and NJ Advance Media. He can be reached at [email protected].
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