New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly stated he would have the last word on all New York Police Department (NYPD) decisions — not Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
He made the comments during an interview with The New York Times at City Hall.
In a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times, the mayor said that he was willing to institute policy changes at the Police Department if he and the commissioner, Jessica Tisch, could not reach an agreement.
“Yes, ultimately I hold the final decision no matter which department or agency we’re speaking about,” Mr. Mamdani said, speaking from his offices at City Hall.
He was specifically responding to a question about whether to dismantle a unit known as the Strategic Response Group, which polices protests and other mass events and has been faulted for using heavy-handed tactics. Ms. Tisch, who was also police commissioner under former Mayor Eric Adams, has been dubious in the past about getting rid of the entity.
The mayor remains committed to disband the SRG, a promise he made on the campaign trail. In January, he told reporters, “We need to disband the SRG, and I’m currently in conversations with the police commissioner about the ways in which we can do so that are operational,” according to City & State NY.
The SRG issue is not the only point of contention between Mamdani and Tisch. Mamdani also supports abolishing the NYPD’s gang database, a system with more than 16,000 entries, Politico reported. The database has faced criticism for unfairly targeting racial minorities.
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NEW: In clear terms, @NYCMayor tells us if he and @NYPDPC cannot reach agreement on dismantling the Strategic Response Group and other issues of dispute, he will overrule her. He said they’re in talks over how to reform SRG. W/ @danarubinstein https://t.co/Hs57Lr2dzU
— Sally Goldenberg (@SallyGold) April 9, 2026
"I've made my critiques of the database clear, and the NYPD has also implemented a number of reforms as per the recommendation that came through, and the implementation of those reforms and the results of that are part of the active discussion that we're having,” Mamdani told reporters.
Tisch disagreed, saying “the gang database is a tool that has helped us in terms of fighting gun violence” and that “It also contributed to the gang takedowns.”
After @ZohranKMamdani dismantles the SRG, etc., the @NYPDPC will quit (if he doesn’t fire her), crime will spike (as it always does in warm weather), and Zohran’s polling will tank completely.
— SCOOCH.NYC (@david_sivella) April 9, 2026
Then NYC will elect Jessica Tisch mayor in 2029.
The End.
Good night, Boy @NYCMayor https://t.co/mNdOgQugEl pic.twitter.com/EVmIYwdQZH
The two officials clashed in February when Mamdani portrayed a violent incident at Washington Square Park that resulted in the hospitalization of two officers as a “snowball fight.”
Mamdani’s rhetoric is nothing new. In June 2020 after the death of George Floyd, he wrote a post on social media that said, “We don’t need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety. What we need is to #DefundTheNYPD."
However, while campaigning for mayor, he softened his stance. “Absolutely, I’ll apologize to police officers right here,” he said during an interview with Fox News. “Because this is the apology that I’ve been sharing with many rank-and-file officers, and I apologize because of the fact that I’m looking to work with these officers, and I know that these officers, these men and women who serve in the NYPD, they put their lives on the line every single day.”
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