Zohran Mamdani doubles down on disbanding NYPD unit that responded to NYC shooting — but backs off unpopular ‘defund’ stance

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani doubled-down Wednesday on axing the elite NYPD unit that responded to the Midtown mass shooting – but backed off his past unpopular “defund the police” stance.

The mayoral frontrunner, during a highly anticipated news conference, nodded when asked if he would still disband the police department’s Strategic Response Group if elected.

“There is a need to ensure that every act we take is one that is actually delivering public safety,” he said.

“And what we see right now, especially with regards to how we respond to protests, is not in line.”

The SRG has been too often tapped to respond to protests, leading to civil rights abuses, and should be replaced with another emergency task force, he argued.

Mamdani’s vow to disband and replace the SRG came as he sought also to walk back some of his past “defund the police” rhetoric – especially in light of Monday’s massacre that left four dead, including NYPD Officer Didarul Islam and three civilians.

He said his notorious past anti-NYPD tweets weren’t reflective of his campaign’s stance that the police plays an integral role in public safety, but shouldn’t be tasked with filling in gaps in the city’s social safety net. He’s previously said social workers should be responsible for answering certain calls, including mental health disturbances and domestic violence reports.

“My statements in 2020 were made amidst a frustration that many New Yorkers held at the murder of George Floyd,” he said.

Mamdani held the news conference hours after an apparently emotional visit with Islam’s mourning relatives at their Bronx home — which he went to straight from the airport after returning from an ill-timed trip to Uganda.

He didn’t answer questions from reporters as he left the hourlong family visit, instead heading to a press conference, where he tried several times to shift the focus to Islam and the other victims.

Mamdani also chastised his mayoral election rival Andrew Cuomo for supposedly politicizing the tragedy.

“It is beyond me that politicians are looking to use these days to score such cynical political points, on the very day that I held the father of Officer Islam in my arms and he could not utter a single word,” he said.

“For the former governor to spend an entire day speaking almost exclusively about me and barely about the New Yorkers who have been killed is indicative of the very politics New Yorkers want to leave in the past.”