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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Tuesday he has “no plans” to fire NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, pushing back against calls from his democratic socialist allies to remove the city’s top cop following protests over an ICE-involved shooting in the Bronx.
Ahead of a ceremony Tuesday honoring fallen NYPD officers, Mamdani was asked about Tisch’s future as head of the department.
“Jessica Tisch is the police commissioner. I have no plans to change that,” Mamdani told reporters.
“The reason that I made the decision to have Jessica Tisch as the police commissioner was because of her record of uprooting corruption from the upper echelons of the NYPD while lowering crime across our city,” he continued. “And over the last 10 months that we’ve worked together, we have delivered the lowest recorded number of murders in our city’s history, the lowest recorded number of shootings as well as shooting victims.”
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks alongside Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch during a news conference at Gracie Mansion in New York City on March 9. (Leonardo Munoz/AFP via Getty Images)
The mayor’s comments came after the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) called for Tisch’s removal following last week’s ICE shooting and demanded that Mamdani use his authority to drive ICE out of New York City.
The demand followed last week’s shooting of Oscar Belgal during a federal immigration operation in the Bronx.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Belgal, a 28-year-old Dominican national, was shot after allegedly refusing to comply with officers’ orders during a targeted ICE operation to arrest him.
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a press conference at the site where a man was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during an operation in the Bronx, on October 8, 2026, in New York City. (Ryan Murphy/Getty Images)
Following the incident, a City Hall spokesperson said Mamdani was reviewing the circumstances surrounding the shooting but had no plans to remove Tisch.
Scott Munro, president of the Detectives’ Endowment Association — the union representing active and retired NYPD detectives — was also asked by reporters Tuesday about the DSA urging Mamdani to fire Tisch.
Munro said he believes Mamdani supports the police commissioner, noting that crime was down and Tisch was “doing her job.”
Mamdani and Tisch appeared together Tuesday at the New York City Police Memorial, where they honored 42 fallen NYPD members, including 41 who died from illnesses related to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and their aftermath. The ceremony also honored Detective First Grade Didarul Islam, who was killed in a Midtown Manhattan mass shooting in 2025.
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New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, left, and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images; Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The mayor paid tribute to the fallen officers and their families during the ceremony, which Tisch also attended.
“While we cannot feel the silence they left behind, we will refuse to let their memory fade,” Mamdani said.
Earlier this week, Mamdani directed the NYPD to conduct a comprehensive review of its use-of-force policies and practices.
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He also announced reforms aimed at strengthening accountability when police officers are accused of serious misconduct.
