Socialists press Mamdani to fire NYPD chief Tisch after ICE shooting
New York City's Democratic Socialists of America chapter is demanding that Mayor Zohran Mamdani fire Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch after an ICE agent shot a man in Manhattan last week. The group says police helped ICE and mistreated protesters. Mamdani, a DSA member, says there are no plans to replace Tisch.
New York City's chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America is demanding that Mayor Zohran Mamdani fire Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. The pressure follows a shooting by federal immigration agents last week.
On Thursday, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot Oscar Belgal, 28, while he sat in his car in Manhattan's Marble Hill neighborhood with a 5-year-old in the back seat. The child was not physically hurt. Protests broke out that night.
The DSA, which Mamdani has called his "political home," accused the NYPD of working with ICE and abusing protesters, Gothamist reported. "We demand that Mayor Zohran Mamdani fire NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and use every power available to him to drive ICE out of New York City," the group said, according to the New York Post. It also wants two police units disbanded, including the Strategic Response Group, which handles protests.
Tisch has said the NYPD was not involved in the ICE operation. She also described Belgal's criminal record at a news conference, which angered activists.
Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Democratic congressional nominee and Mamdani ally, has also called for Tisch to step down. Video showed her being pushed to the ground by police at the protest. "The NYPD spent more time protecting a militia that just shot someone than protecting New Yorkers," she wrote on X, The Guardian reported.
Mamdani has not budged. He told The New York Times on Friday that "there are no plans" to change NYPD leadership, the Post reported. Asked on MS NOW on Sunday about Avila Chevalier's call for Tisch to step down, he did not change course, the Post reported. He said the city will review the shooting, the police response and the protests. He has promised to disband the Strategic Response Group but has not yet done so.
The clash is the biggest so far between the mayor and the group that helped elect him, Gothamist reported.
What we know: The city's DSA chapter wants Tisch fired after the ICE shooting, and Mamdani says he has no plans to replace her.
What we don't: Whether the city's review leads to changes at the NYPD, and how the split affects Mamdani's ties to the left.
Where outlets agree The New York Post and The Guardian both report that Mamdani has shown no sign he will remove Tisch.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.