NYPD Use-Of-Force Rules Face Major Overhaul After Fatal Queens Shooting

NEW YORK CITY— The New York Police Department must conduct its first comprehensive review of use-of-force policies and practices in a decade, Mayor Zohran Mamdani ordered Monday.

The review will examine how officers use force and include community input over the coming months.

The administration also plans to expand independent oversight, improve information sharing with families after critical incidents and help ensure disciplinary cases move forward before officers retire.

The changes follow the retirement of an officer facing disciplinary charges in the March 2024 fatal shooting of Win Rozario.

Rozario, 19, was fatally shot by two New York City police officers inside his family's Queens home in 2024, during a mental health crisis.

Police body-camera footage later showed his mother pleading with officers not to shoot him.

The officer retired before a disciplinary trial could take place.

In 2025, police-action claims were the most common type of legal claim against the City, according to a New York City comptroller report.

The City recorded 6,082 claims and more than $113 million in settlements.

“When the government uses force against a New Yorker, the standard for accountability must be at its highest,” Mamdani said.

What Changes Is Mamdani Proposing?

The administration announced five measures alongside the department wide review.

The City will increase funding for the Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD by $2.6 million. The additional money will restore staffing to a historic peak, tripling the office's current headcount and expanding its capacity to investigate police policies and practices.

The NYPD has also implemented a notification system designed to help complete disciplinary proceedings before officers retire.

The department will formalize its practice of notifying the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services when officers retire with pending disciplinary charges.

It will also submit personnel information for possible decertification, helping prevent officers from avoiding scrutiny by joining other law enforcement agencies in the state.

The department will formalize how it shares information with New Yorkers after critical incidents, including with families of people killed or seriously injured. Families and their representatives will be able to request final reports from the NYPD's Force Investigation Division.

Has Mamdani Fulfilled Promises On Policing?

Mamdani faces pressure from fellow democratic socialists to pursue broader changes to the NYPD, including disbanding a specialized unit frequently deployed at protests and ending police assistance for federal immigration enforcement.

Darializa Avila Chevalier, a Democratic congressional nominee endorsed by Mamdani, called for the NYPD's Strategic Response Group to be disbanded and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to resign.

Another 17 democratic socialist elected officials and nominees, including congressional nominee Claire Valdez, signed a letter demanding that Tisch end NYPD assistance for ICE operations and disband the Strategic Response Group.

The letter also called for Tisch's dismissal if she refused.

“My vision is for the disbanding of the SRG,” Mamdani said. “I have made that promise, I will fulfill that promise, the only question is the timeline of it.”

Which Neighborhoods Face The Most Complaints?

Four precincts each recorded more than 100 excessive-force complaints to the civilian review board from 2023 to 2025.

The precincts cover East New York and Cypress Hills in Brooklyn, along with Mott Haven, Melrose, Concourse and Highbridge in the Bronx.

The comptroller report found higher levels of force allegations and misconduct settlements in precincts with larger Black and Hispanic or Latino populations.

More than 85 percent of residents in the four precincts with the most recent complaints were Black or Hispanic or Latino, according to the analysis.