New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has ordered a review of the New York City Police Department's (NYPD) use of force, marking the first such review in a decade. This decision comes amid calls for law enforcement reform from his progressive supporters. A city spokesperson clarified that the calls for reform are not linked to the police response to a recent shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). On October 12, 2026, the city announced plans to introduce a package of reforms alongside the review to enhance accountability for police officers accused of serious misconduct.
The reforms follow the retirement of an officer involved in the shooting death of 19-year-old Win Rozario during a mental health crisis in 2024. The mayor's office stated that the officer retired before a disciplinary trial could occur. Among the measures announced, Mamdani allocated $2.6 million in additional funding for the Office of the Inspector General, which investigates NYPD policies and misconduct. The statement also proposed a new notification system to ensure that disciplinary hearings are completed before an officer retires and emphasized the need for the department to comply with state-level reporting requirements regarding police-involved deaths.
The announcement comes as Mamdani faces pressure from fellow progressives to enforce accountability within the NYPD. Attention has been drawn to the Strategic Response Group, a unit that addresses protests and civil disorder. Recently, 17 state-level politicians, including congressional candidates Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, called for the disbandment of this group, citing its deployment during protests against an ICE operation.
On October 8, an ICE officer shot 28-year-old Oscar Belgal while he was in an SUV with his five-year-old son, leading to protests against ICE's tactics and the police response. Chevalier reported being shoved to the ground by an officer during the protests and claimed to have witnessed instances of excessive force. Mamdani condemned the shooting and called for Belgal's release from federal custody.
Critics have pointed to such incidents as evidence of the need for greater police oversight. Reports indicate that the use of force within the NYPD has increased over the past decade, with 12,348 reported incidents in 2025, up from 4,087 in 2016. In contrast, crime rates in New York City have decreased, with the city reporting the lowest number of shooting incidents and murders in recorded history during the first nine months of the year. Major crime rates declined 9.4 percent in the third quarter compared to the previous year.
Despite the decrease in crime, Chevalier and other progressive politicians continue to criticize the excessive use of force authorized under the city's police leadership, calling for the resignation of Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Tisch was appointed by Mamdani's predecessor, Eric Adams, and can be removed by either the mayor or the governor of New York State. Recent reports indicated that Governor Kathy Hochul made retaining Tisch a condition of her endorsement for Mamdani in the upcoming mayoral election, though Mamdani described this as more of a recommendation than a demand. A spokesperson for City Hall stated that the review of use-of-force policies was already planned prior to the October 8 shooting and subsequent protests.