New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is refusing to fire NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, pushing back against demands from his democratic socialist allies after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in the Bronx ended in a shooting.
“I have no plans to change that,” Mamdani said Tuesday when asked about Tisch’s future, according to Fox News.
Mamdani defended his decision to keep Tisch, citing her efforts to combat corruption within the department and reduce crime. The mayor also pointed to historically low recorded murder and shooting figures during the period he described in his remarks.
The Democratic Socialists of America’s New York City chapter has called for Tisch’s removal following the October 8 shooting involving federal immigration officers in the Bronx. The group has also demanded changes to the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group and called for stronger action against ICE.
The shooting involved Oscar Belgal, a 28-year-old Dominican national. Federal officials said he was shot during a targeted immigration operation after allegedly refusing officers’ orders. The circumstances surrounding the incident have fueled protests and competing accusations over the city’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
Mamdani has faced pressure to align his administration more closely with activists who oppose the NYPD’s current structure and ICE operations. His decision to retain Tisch highlights the tension between those demands and his responsibility for overseeing the city’s police department.
Tisch and Mamdani appeared together Tuesday at a memorial ceremony honoring 42 NYPD members, including officers who died from illnesses related to the September 11 attacks and Detective First Grade Didarul Islam, who was killed in a 2025 mass shooting.
The mayor’s decision does not mean the dispute is over. As Northeast Independent recently reported, Mamdani recently directed a comprehensive review of NYPD use-of-force policies and announced reforms intended to strengthen accountability when officers face serious misconduct allegations.
For now, however, the mayor has drawn a line on the commissioner’s job. Whether that position holds as pressure from his political allies continues will test how far Mamdani is willing to go in balancing his coalition’s demands with his administration’s public-safety responsibilities.
