New York City Democratic Party mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani is joined on the campaign trail by Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, on Aug. 4, 2025, in New York City. (Fox 5 New York)
Mamdani has called for the creation of a Department of Community Safety to deal with certain "mental health programs and crisis response," according to his campaign website.
"And I think about the seven major categories of crime listed in CompStat. That is not the full extent of what we ask officers to do. The NYPD receives 200,000 mental health calls every year. How can they be expected to respond to that and to this? New Yorkers rightfully have concerns around public safety, and I want to empower police officers to respond to serious crime and hire mental health professionals to respond to mental health calls," he added.
Fox News Digital reported that Mamdani has made several public calls to "defund the police" dating back to June 2020, and then changed his tune slightly during his campaign.
'DAMAGE CONTROL': MAMDANI'S 'BLATANT FLIP-FLOP' ON DEFUNDING POLICE RIPPED AS 'POLITICAL THEATRE'
New York Mayor Eric Adams attends the funeral of slain NYPD officer Didarul Islam at Parkchester Jame Masjid on July 31, 2025, in the Parkchester neighborhood of the Bronx borough in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
"I will not defund the police. I will work with the police because I believe the police have a critical role to play in public service, public safety," he said.
His comments faced renewed scrutiny following the 345 Park Avenue mass shooting, where five died, including the gunman and a police officer, Didarul Islam.
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"I'm heartbroken to learn of the horrific shooting in Midtown and I am holding the victims, their families, and the NYPD officer in critical condition in my thoughts. Grateful for all of our first responders on the ground," Mamdani posted to X after the shooting, and he returned from his trip to Uganda early in the wake of the tragedy.
However, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who is a former police officer, said that his recent rhetoric and actions, including attending Islam’s funeral, are a political tactic.
"We lost officers before he was running for mayor. Where was he? Did he feel those officers deserve to be lifted up as he lifted up now Officer Islam during the election? We need to ask, where was he?" Adams told reporters at City Hall on Monday, according to the New York Post.
The closely watched election is on Nov. 4, and it remains a four-way race between Mamdani, Adams, Republican Curtis Sliwa and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Cameron Arcand is a politics writer at Fox News Digital in Washington D.C. Story tips can be sent to Cameron.Arcand@Fox.com and on Twitter: @cameron_arcand
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mamdani-laments-nypd-officer-departures-amid-scrutiny-past-anti-police-comments