NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani professes admiration for NYPD, distances himself from past social media posts
As the New York City office building shooting becomes more and more entwined in the mayor's race -- with charges and counter charges flying about -- Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani is now seeking to align himself with the NYPD and quell fears he is anti-police.
The first thing Mandani did when he returned from a trip to Uganda on Wednesday was to visit the family of NYPD Officer Didarul Islam, who was killed during the rampage. Mamdani then held a press conference to embrace the police and distance himself from a series of old social media posts from as many as five years ago.
"I am not defunding the police. I am not running to defund the police," Mamdani said.
Mamdani softens tone on NYPD's Strategic Response Group
In the aftermath of the tragic shooting that killed Officer Islam and three other people on Park Avenue, Mamdani took great pains to wrap himself in NYPD blue and explain his views on policing and how to keep New Yorkers safe. He put a special focus on an old tweet in which he called for disbanding the Strategic Response Group, the NYPD's special operations unit that responded to the Park Avenue shooting.
CBS News New York's Marcia Kramer asked him if his views have changed. Mamdani's answer was nuanced. He praised the work done by the unit this week and said they should concentrate on those kinds of activities and not policing protests.
"In asking the members of that unit to respond to protests, as opposed to what was the stated reason, is a decision that has led to the violation of a number of New Yorkers' civil rights, and it's a decision that has been the basis of my critique of the use of the group towards that end," Mamdani said.
Adams and Cuomo hammer Mamdani on public safety
Mayor Eric Adams slammed Mamdani, saying the Strategic Response Group is critical in dealing with terrorist acts and lone wolves.
"When you start dismantling the pieces of the law enforcement apparatus that are specifically designed to carry out functions, that is extremely dangerous in a lack of knowledge and understanding of these roles," Adams said.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo also took Mamdani to task for wanting to change the Strategic Response Group.
"Public safety is job one. It always has been, and the assemblyman shows a disdain for NYPD and seems like he has no concept of the importance of public safety," Cuomo said.
"What I would also say in this moment is that it is beyond me that politicians are looking to use these days to score such cynical political points on the very day that I held the father of Officer Islam in my arms as he could not utter a single word and as I felt him sobbing at the memory of his 36-year-old son, who will never come home," Mamdani said.
There is another problem brewing for Mamdani. Several groups are worried about his left-of-center policies and are raising millions to try and defeat him. One group, called Protect the Protectors, hopes to publicize his police policies. Others are worried about his business policies and desire to tax the rich.
