Mamdani orders NYPD to review its use-of-force practices

Mamdani orders NYPD to review use-of-force practices, increase transparency

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has ordered the NYPD to overhaul its use-of-force practices, implementing reforms intended to raise accountability and transparency. The new directives include a department-wide review of existing protocols, a more robust notification system for cases involving officer misconduct, and formal processes to share critical incident reports, especially with the families of those killed or seriously harmed by police, in response to mounting scrutiny after the death of Win Rozario in 2024. The trigger for these actions was the revelation that Officer Salvatore Alongi, involved in Rozario’s fatal shooting, retired with a disability pension before facing Civilian Complaint Review Board charges, following a notification failure by NYPD leadership.

This move by Mamdani addresses longstanding friction between NYPD procedures and oversight authorities. Until now, disciplinary action has often been delayed or averted when officers retire, exploiting notification gaps between the department and the CCRB. The NYPD, acknowledging its error in Alongi’s case, has since implemented a new notification protocol, as well as standardized public disclosures following use-of-force incidents. These changes, some in effect since August but not previously publicized, result from both public outcry and sustained political pressure for improved NYPD accountability in post-incident investigations.

While some advocates and Rozario’s family have pressed for swifter, stricter penalties against officers who evade discipline, the newly announced measures focus on procedural fixes, most notably standardizing how NYPD warns CCRB before retirement decisions, which could immediately affect current misconduct cases. Implementation is underway, but the effectiveness of these reforms will be tested in upcoming officer retirement reviews and future use-of-force investigations. NYC Daily TL;DR expects that the new notification system will face its first major test the next time an officer under CCRB review applies for retirement before charges are brought.

→ The NYPD’s new notification system was implemented in August, and upcoming retirements involving misconduct cases will be the first to use it.

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