How does Mamdani respond to shootings by the NYPD? Slowly.

Within his first days as mayor, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was confronted with not one, but two fatal police shootings. 

The first took place at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital Thursday night after a police officer shot and killed a man wielding a blade who barricaded himself in a room with a patient and security guard, according to the NYPD. The second incident took place in the West Village, when a police officer shot and killed a man driving a vehicle after he drew a fake gun.

“Last night, officers were placed in incredibly difficult and dangerous circumstances. The actions they took, they responded swiftly,” Mamdani said at an unrelated press conference Friday morning, seemingly seeking to strike a balance between appeasing the New York City Police Department and many of his lefty supporters hungry for stricter accountability measures for police. “And I will always emphasize when someone has been killed, the need for a thorough investigation as is our current process.”

The shootings pose a first test for a new mayor whose previous statements on policing could make the issue particularly challenging for him to navigate. Police-involved killings have haunted mayors in the past, leading to criticism that they did not do enough to discipline the officers or to get justice for the victims. Likewise, the experience of former Mayor Bill de Blasio showed what a struggle it can be for a mayor when officers turn against him. Mamdani, a democratic socialist who has promised to toughen discipline and to send mental health teams instead of police officers to some emergencies, will have a lot of eyes on how he responds. 

There is also heightened scrutiny on Mamdani’s relationship with Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, after a day one executive order prompted speculation that he had demoted her. Mamdani ultimately clarified that Tisch, a holdover from the Adams administration, in fact reports directly to him. Mamdani’s choice of Tisch to lead the NYPD angered some police reform advocates who were hoping he would replace her with someone more progressive. 

In a statement Friday afternoon, Tisch was unambiguous in her support for the officers who shot people on Thursday night. “Every day, the men and women of the NYPD put their lives on the line to protect New Yorkers. Last night was no different,” she wrote. “Officers were engaged in two police-involved shootings, and there is every indication that their actions were nothing short of heroic.”

The fact that Mamdani didn’t issue a public statement on the shootings until a little after 9:30 Friday morning already garnered some criticism. To reporters, he said that while he was briefed about the shootings Thursday night, he ultimately waited to issue his public statement because he wanted to be “very intentional” in what he shared.

“I wanted to make sure that everything that we shared with New Yorkers was the language that we wanted them to know about this,” Mamdani said.