Two Clocks, One Review: New York’s Police Accountability Bind
Two clocks began running in New York City this October, and only one of them came with a press release. The first measures a review of how the New York Police Department uses force — the first such review in a decade, ordered by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. [2] The second measures something quieter: the date an officer’s career ends. In at least one recent case, the second clock arrived first. The reforms follow the retirement of a police officer involved in the shooting death of 19-year-old Win Rozario during a reported mental health crisis in 2024. [2] “That officer retired before a disciplinary trial could take place,” the mayor’s office said in a statement. [2].
The review was not announced on its own. The city said it would introduce a “package of reforms” in addition to the review, to “strengthen accountability when police officers are accused of serious misconduct.” [2] The department at the centre of the announcement is the largest police force in the United States. [2] Among the measures is $2.6m in additional funding for the Office of the Inspector General, a city agency that investigates police policies and misconduct. [2] The package also calls for a new notification system to ensure disciplinary hearings are completed before an officer retires, and it includes a renewed push for the department to comply with state-level reporting requirements about police-involved deaths. [2].
The retirement clock is not a metaphor. The reforms follow the retirement of an officer involved in the shooting death of 19-year-old Win Rozario during a reported mental health crisis in 2024.
A New York City Hall spokesperson told Al Jazeera that the use-of-force review was already in the works prior to the October 8 ICE shooting and the protests that followed. [2].
What Counts as Force, and Who Counts It
“Reported use of force within the NYPD has increased over the last decade, including physical force, the deployment of firearms, and the use of electrical weapons like tasers. [2] There were 12,348 reported use-of-force incidents in 2025, compared with 4,087 in 2016, when the department first started collecting such statistics. [2].
The Strategic Response Group is a rapid-response unit that addresses protests, major events and “civil disorder”. [2] Earlier this month, 17 state-level politicians and political nominees, including congressional candidates Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, called for the group to be disbanded. [2] Both Valdez and Chevalier were endorsed by Mamdani. [2].
That demand came in a statement denouncing the Strategic Response Group’s deployment during protests against a recent US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation. [2] On October 8, an ICE officer shot 28-year-old Oscar Belgal while he was inside an SUV with his five-year-old son. [2] The shooting, which took place in New York’s Marble Hill neighbourhood, sparked days of demonstrations against ICE’s tactics, as well as a police response. [2] Chevalier wrote in a post on social media that she was “shoved to the ground by an officer” during the protests. [2] “When I was in Marble Hill last night I saw NYPD officers rapidly escalating violence,” Chevalier said. [2] “I witnessed unmarked law enforcement cars hitting protesters as NYPD officers pushed people out of its path.” [2].
The Commissioner Nobody in City Hall Chose
Whatever the review concludes, it meets a fixed structure at the top of the department.
Her tenure has a political history that predates her critics. The endorsement was given in 2024; the commissioner is still in the post.
In a statement to the magazine, Mamdani questioned that framing, saying Hochul’s support for keeping Tisch was “more of a recommendation” than a demand. [2]