Immigration
Goldman seeks answers from Tisch on Nov. 12 NYPD-ICE incident
The lawmaker penned a letter to the police commissioner looking to clarify the department’s protocol.
Rep. Dan Goldman wrote a letter to New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch about the NYPD’s interactions with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Rep. Dan Goldman is calling on New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to investigate a Nov. 12 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation that left two NYPD officers injured, asking for specific information on whether the department has protocols in place to avoid similar confusing and dangerous incidents in the future.
“This improper conduct by ICE has placed NYPD in the impossible position of having to distinguish armed federal agents from criminal actors in real time,” Goldman wrote in a letter to Tisch Tuesday, which his office shared exclusively with City & State ahead of its release. “Now, this grossly egregious conduct has created safety risks not only for the public, but for your officers, who are forced to respond.”
The Nov. 12 incident in Washington Heights occurred after two officers responded to a 911 call from residents reporting armed and plain-clothed men pulling people out of cars, according to an NYPD spokesperson. The officers intervened, witnessing a group of people chasing someone in the neighborhood – until they realized the people targeting residents were in fact ICE agents. It is unclear how exactly the officers sustained injuries.
Now, Goldman is looking for answers. “Has your Department issued guidance or protocol to officers advising them how to respond to federal agents operating without visible identifiers or markings during enforcement operations or actions?” Goldman asks in his letter. “If so, please provide such guidance.”
In a previous interview with City & State, the lower Manhattan and Brooklyn lawmaker said the incident highlights why the city needs to change its sanctuary city laws so local law enforcement can intervene when federal agents violate local law while raiding city streets. (They can, however, communicate with the federal agents beforehand to ensure that the local agents steer clear of ICE operations in the city, which Tisch has reportedly done before). Goldman sent a letter to Tisch last month, asking for changes, but told City & State that the police commissioner did not respond.
Goldman’s letter comes as Tisch recently accepted Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s offer to continue to serve as police commissioner under his administration.