More Stories
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Monday that he is directing the NYPD to conduct the department's first comprehensive review of its use-of-force policies in a decade while implementing a series of reforms aimed at strengthening police accountability.
According to City Hall, the review comes after one of the officers who is facing disciplinary charges in connection with the death of 19-year-old Win Rozario retired before a departmental trial could take place.
Rozario was shot and killed by NYPD officers in March 2024 while he experienced a mental health crisis.
His death and the officer's retirement have renewed questions among advocates and members of the public about how the department handles misconduct cases when officers leave the force before disciplinary proceedings are completed.
City Hall said the review will examine the department's use-of-force policies, practices and training and will include a community engagement process over the coming months.
"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 announcement represents one of Mamdani's most significant policing initiatives since he took office. It also places renewed focus on his longstanding calls for police reform.
During his campaign for mayor, Mamdani advocated shifting some responses to mental health emergencies and other noncriminal situations away from police officers and toward trained civilian professionals. Since he took office, his administration launched the Office of Community Safety.
The latest announcement focuses on how the city responds when officers are accused of serious misconduct or when police use of force results in death or serious injury.
According to City Hall, the administration will provide an additional $2.6 million in funding to the Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD. It is an independent oversight office within the city's Department of Investigation (DOI).
DOI Commissioner Nadia I. Shihata said in a statement to News 12, “I am thrilled with the Mayor’s announcement that DOI will receive $2.6 million in additional funds for our Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD. These funds will allow DOI to fully staff and re-establish robust oversight of policing in New York City – one of my top priorities as DOI Commissioner. I am very pleased that DOI can move forward with this objective – one that supports effective policing, protects our civil rights and freedoms, and builds stronger police-community relations.”
City officials said the funding would restore staffing levels to a historic peak by tripling the office's current headcount and expanding its ability to investigate NYPD policies and practices related to accountability.
The administration also announced measures intended to address situations in which officers retire while they face disciplinary charges.
According to City Hall, the NYPD has implemented a new notification system designed to help disciplinary proceedings conclude before officers retire from the department.
The administration added that the NYPD will formalize its existing practice of notifying the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services when an officer retires with pending disciplinary charges. It will also submit personnel information for potential decertification.
City officials said that change is intended to make it more difficult for officers who are facing serious disciplinary allegations to leave the NYPD and later join another law enforcement agency elsewhere in New York state without review.
According to the administration, the NYPD will also standardize how it shares information following critical incidents, including providing Force Investigation Division reports to families or their representatives who request them when someone is killed or seriously injured during an encounter with police.
City Hall also said the department will remain in compliance with state reporting requirements for police-involved deaths.
For families who seek more information after a fatal police encounter, the changes could provide greater transparency into how the department investigates those incidents. However, it remains unclear whether the reforms will lead to changes in officer discipline or what recommendations may emerge from the broader use-of-force review.
The comprehensive review is expected to continue over the next several months, although the administration has not announced a specific completion date.
Mamdani says his administration will continue to examine department policies and practices as part of its broader effort to strengthen police accountability and restore public trust.
PBA President Patrick Hendry released a statement saying:
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. 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. 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.
More from News 12
0:34
'Spider-Man Way.' Street renaming honors Marvel superhero's native NYC borough
1:47
Made In: Brooklyn-based artist hand-paints signs for NYC businesses
0:36
Kelly Clarkson calls Brooklyn store owner a 'liar' in viral feud over $15K singing bird
1:19
A dry stretch before a wet finish to the week in Brooklyn
0:24
Brooklyn man arrested in connection with 2 vehicle thefts in Elmont
