Amid a fresh torrent of criticism over Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani’s past tweets bashing the NYPD, he said on Wednesday that those posts are “clearly out of step” with his current views on policing in the five boroughs.
Mamdani, during his first news conference since returning from a multi-day trip to Uganda, distanced himself from past social media posts sharply criticizing the NYPD in the wake of a mass shooting earlier this week that claimed the life of one police officer, Didarul Islam, and three other New Yorkers.
The posts have been resurfaced by Mamdani’s critics and seized upon by his general election rival, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to paint him as complicit in violence against the police in the wake of the shooting. Cuomo’s campaign used a similar tactic during the primary, highlighting Mamdani’s past anti-NYPD posts to paint him as someone who will not keep New Yorkers safe as mayor — a message that appeared not to resonate as Mamdani beat Cuomo by nearly 13 points.
In the days since the shooting, Mamdani’s critics have pointed to 2020 posts in which he called to “defund the police” and another where he wrote “nature is healing” in response to a post saying “I JUST SAW A COP CRYING IN HIS CAR LAMOOOO.”
“To be very clear, as I have been over the course of this campaign, I’m not defunding the police, I’m not running to defund the police,” said Mamdani, a democratic socialist Queens Assembly member.
“The Tweet that you refer to is a Tweet that is out of step with the way in which I not only view police officers, the immense work that they do in this city, but also the seriousness with which we need to treat that work and the difficulties that come with that work,” Mamdani said, specifically responding to a reporter’s question about the “nature is healing” post.
Despite Mamdani saying throughout the campaign that he no longer supports the defund movement, Cuomo has continued to insist otherwise.
“Just look at what [Mamdani] has said…’The NYPD should be defunded,’ which is a terrible mistake we made in this city,” Cuomo said while speaking to reporters in Inwood on Wednesday.
Mamdani offers condolences to massacre victims
Mamdani was joined at his event by Smith Etienne, brother of Aland Etienne, one of the victims who was fatally shot on Monday. Etienne was a security guard at the Park Avenue office building where the shooting took place and was a member of 32BJ SEIU — a union that has endorsed Mamdani and hosted his Wednesday event at its Flatiron headquarters.
Also present at the event was Shamsul Haque, the founder of the Bangladeshi American Police Association, who was there to commemorate Islam — a Bangladeshi officer. Mamdani said that he will be attending Islam’s Thursday funeral at the invitation of his brother-in-law, Officer Kamrul Hasan.
The Assembly member’s evolving position on the role of the police comes as the left-leaning politician has moderated some of his other previous positions as well as seeking to unite the Democratic Party behind him in the general election. In addition to Cuomo, Mamdani is facing off against incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, and attorney Jim Walden.
Cuomo, Adams, and Walden are all running as independents.
Mamdani also sought to clarify a social media post from late last year in which he pledged to disband the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group. The unit responded to Monday’s mass shooting, but has also been heavily scrutinized over allegations that it uses excessive force in quelling protests.
Cuomo attacked him over the post after a New York Post report resurfaced it on Tuesday.
“The Assembly Member called for the dismantling of the Strategic Response Group, that is the group that responds to terrorist attacks, that is the group that responded to the shooting on Monday,” Cuomo said. “He just doesn’t understand government, and he doesn’t understand public safety, and he is dangerous in that regard.”
When asked if he still sought to dismantle the unit, Mamdani said he would, but that he would also replace it with another group dedicated to responding to emergencies and not protests.
“What we saw on Monday was an example of how we would want a response to look like to an emergency,” Mamdani said. “There is a need to ensure that every act we take is one that is actually delivering public safety. And what we see right now, especially with regards to how we respond to protest, is not in line with that.”
