NYC Mayor Mamdani orders NYPD use-of-force review, accountability reforms
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani directed the NYPD to conduct its first use-of-force review in a decade on Monday.
The mayor announced the review Monday along with a package of reforms pushing for accountability reforms for the NYPD after the shooting of a teen inside his Queens home.
In 2024, police shot and killed Win Rozario, 19, while they were responding to his home during a mental health crisis.
Body camera video showed Rozario lunging at police in his Queens home with a pair of scissors as officers deployed their tasers before firing several gunshots.
On Thursday, an officer facing disciplinary charges for Rozario's death was allowed to retire before a disciplinary trial could take place, sparking outrage from the Rozario family.
The NYPD said a civilian employee should have notified the Police Oversight Board so the officer's retirement could have been paused until a trial.
Mamdani said the review will take place over the coming months and include a robust community engagement process.
"When the government uses force against a New Yorker, the standard for accountability must be at its highest," Mamdani said. "The administration is rolling out a package of reforms, including implementing a new notification system to ensure disciplinary processes are completed before an officer retires. The NYPD will standardize how it shares information with families and the public following critical incidents."
PBA president Patrick Hendry said there shouldn't be a review of use-of-force policies without a review of the Civilian Complaint Review Board.
"We have brought several examples of CCRB's dysfunction and anti-police bias to the attention of the mayor and his team, and we've seen zero meaningful action in those areas," he said in a statement. "The mayor's radical base wants a wholesale dismantling of the NYPD, and it's clear this announcement is an attempt to appease them. It won't work, and it won't make New Yorkers any safer."
Part of Mamdani's reforms include "implementing a new notification system to ensure disciplinary processes are completed before an officer retires."
Other changes include adding $2.6 million in funding for the NYPD's Office of the Inspector General, tripling its staff to oversee police misconduct investigations.
The NYPD will also formalize how it shares information after critical incidents, including handing final investigation reports to families who ask for them.
Police officials will also submit personnel information for decertification when an officer retires with pending disciplinary charges. This will help prevent officers from being rehired by another law enforcement agency in the state.
