FLASHBACK: Zohran Mamdani pledged to ‘disband’ key police unit that handles mass shootings

As New York City reels from a deadly mass shooting in midtown Manhattan that killed four, including an NYPD officer, the Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani is getting renewed attention for a recent pledge to eliminate a key police department responsible for riots, civil disorder and shootings.

Mamdani, who is currently in Uganda celebrating his wedding, has previously called to defund the police, though as a mayoral candidate, he has taken a much more subdued tone regarding policing.

However, while already a candidate for mayor, Mamdani pledged on X in December 2024 to “disband” the New York Police Department’s Strategic Response Group (SRG).  

The SRG is one of the NYPD’s special operations units, which, according to the force’s official website, specializes in disorder response, crime suppression and crowd control and “responds to citywide mobilizations, civil disorders, and major events with highly trained personnel and specialized equipment.”

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The website also says that SRG personnel are “also deployed to areas requiring an increased police presence due to increased crime or other conditions” and “mobilizes for shootings, bank robberies, missing persons, demonstrations, or other significant incidents.”

In December, Mamdani claimed that the NYPD had deployed the SRG to “harass + arrest striking @teamsters.”

Mamdani pledged: “As Mayor, I will disband the SRG, which has cost taxpayers millions in lawsuit settlements + brutalized countless New Yorkers exercising their first amendment rights.”

In response to the shooting, Mamdani has said, “I’m heartbroken to learn of the horrific shooting in midtown and I am holding the victims, their families, and the NYPD officer in critical condition in my thoughts.”

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He also noted he is “grateful for all of our first responders on the ground.”

On Monday, a lone gunman, later identified as Shane Tamura, walked into a midtown Manhattan office building and opened fire, killing four people before turning the gun on himself. 

The four people killed in the shooting were identified as NYPD Officer Didarul Islam, Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner, security guard Aland Etienne and Julia Hyman, an associate at Rudin Management.

The motive for the shooting remains unclear, but the gunman reportedly had a grievance with the NFL, blaming the sport of football for apparent issues with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a side effect from repeated hits to the head.

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In response to the tragedy, Mayor Eric Adams, who is running for re-election as an independent, announced Tuesday that “as a mark of respect for the memory of NYPD Officer Didarul Islam who died in the line of duty and the multiple victims of the mass shooting in Midtown Manhattan at 345 Park Avenue yesterday, I’ve ordered all flags on all city buildings and stationary flagstaffs throughout the five boroughs to be lowered to half-staff until further notice.” 

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“Officer Didarul Islam died as he lived, a hero and protector of New York City. We will never forget you,” Adams wrote in another post on X. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response.