Mamdani Orders NYPD Force Review and Expands Oversight

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani ordered a comprehensive review of police use-of-force policies on Monday, October 12, 2026, alongside new accountability measures for the New York Police Department (NYPD). The review, the first in about a decade, follows the retirement of an officer accused of excessive force in the 2024 death of 19-year-old Win Rozario before disciplinary proceedings could be completed.

According to the mayor's office, the review will examine how officers apply existing force policies and whether revisions are necessary. The process will include community groups and is expected to conclude in the coming months.

The administration also announced a $2.6 million increase in funding for the Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD. According to the mayor's office, the additional funding will restore staffing to a historic peak and strengthen the office's capacity to examine police policies and investigate potential misconduct.

Rozario, a Queens resident, was fatally shot by NYPD officers during a mental health crisis at his home in March 2024. Officers Salvatore Alongi and Matthew Cianfrocco reported that Rozario had lunged at them with scissors.

The New York Attorney General's Office of Special Investigation declined to pursue criminal charges against the officers. However, the Civilian Complaint Review Board voted the following year to substantiate allegations that both officers had used excessive force. In August 2026, the board learned that Alongi had retired in May, preventing disciplinary proceedings against him from continuing. The case against Cianfrocco is expected to proceed.

Mamdani said the reforms were intended to strengthen public accountability when police use force against residents.

"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.

The mayor also linked the review to the city's responsibility to families affected by fatal encounters with police and to ensuring officers receive appropriate guidance and training.

"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."

Beyond the policy review, the NYPD has introduced a notification system designed to help resolve disciplinary cases before officers retire. The administration will also formalize referrals to state authorities when officers leave the force with pending disciplinary charges, with the aim of preventing them from being rehired by other law enforcement agencies in New York.

The city further announced measures to improve compliance with state reporting requirements for police-involved deaths. The NYPD will standardize the release of information and final reports to families following critical incidents, and its Force Investigation Division will provide final reports to families or their representatives upon request.

The announcement comes amid growing criticism from some of Mamdani's supporters over the pace of his policing reforms. Members of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America have called for Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to be removed following the fatal shooting of a Dominican immigrant by federal immigration agents in the Bronx the previous week.

Although the NYPD was not involved in that federal operation, protests and clashes followed the shooting, drawing criticism of the department. Some activists, including Democratic congressional nominee Darializa Avila Chevalier, have also criticized what they describe as cooperation between federal immigration agents and local police during the protests. Mamdani has said he does not plan to remove Tisch.

Patrick Hendry, president of the New York City Patrolmen's Association, which represents rank-and-file NYPD officers, opposed the proposed review and questioned the oversight board's approach.

"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.

Hendry also criticized the political motivations behind the mayor's announcement.

"The mayor’s radical base wants a wholesale dismantling of the NYPD, and it’s clear this announcement is an attempt to appease them."