New York — A 2020 podcast clip has resurfaced showing New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani advocating for the removal of police from domestic violence responses, arguing instead for the use of trained crisis professionals.
In the July 2020 episode of the Immigrantly podcast, recorded during the height of national protests following George Floyd’s death, Mamdani criticized the New York Police Department’s involvement in various crisis situations, including domestic abuse.
“There are so many different situations—someone jaywalking, someone experiencing domestic violence—that would be far better handled by people trained to respond to those specific crises, not by someone with a gun,” Mamdani said. He voiced concerns that armed officers often escalate tense situations rather than resolve them.
At the time, public debate around police reform was at its peak, with Mamdani aligning himself with progressive calls to overhaul public safety. He was elected to the New York State Assembly later that year.
During the same podcast appearance, he cited troubling examples of police encounters with mentally unwell individuals and unhoused New Yorkers, saying, “Instead of receiving a helping hand, they were shot, they were Tased, they were killed.”
Now a leading candidate in New York’s mayoral race, Mamdani is campaigning on a bold public safety platform. At the center is his plan to launch a Department of Community Safety with a proposed $1 billion budget, aiming to shift crisis response—including mental health emergencies—away from traditional policing.
His campaign materials outline a vision for deploying “crisis responders” in situations where armed law enforcement may not be necessary. However, the plan stops short of specifying whether domestic violence cases would be handled entirely by this new agency.
The resurfaced comments also spotlight Mamdani’s broader criticism of the NYPD. In the podcast, he described the department’s presence in marginalized communities as resembling an “occupying force” and reiterated his full support for the “defund the police” movement.
The reemergence of these remarks comes shortly after Mamdani’s dominant win in a competitive Democratic primary, placing him at the forefront of the city’s upcoming mayoral election. His past statements are now drawing renewed scrutiny as he pushes for a fundamental reimagining of how New York approaches public safety.
