Zohran Mamdani orders use-of-force review for New York City police

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.

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”.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) is the largest police force in the United 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.

“That officer retired before a disciplinary trial could take place,” the mayor’s office said in a 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.

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.

Progressive pressure

The announcement comes amid pressure from Mamdani’s fellow progressives to enforce accountability at the city’s police 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”.

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. Both Valdez and Chevalier were endorsed by 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.

Read the full article at Al Jazeera.