Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Wednesday he’s committed to disbanding an NYPD unit that responds to protests in the city – a day after officers from the unit arrested anti-ICE demonstrators for occupying a Manhattan hotel lobby.
In a statement, Mamdani said he was pleased with the NYPD’s response to the protest. Nevertheless, on Wednesday he renewed a campaign promise to disband the department’s Strategic Response Group.
The SRG, which was established in 2015, responds to a number of emergency calls across the city, including protests. Their response to demonstrations has been widely criticized for years, including by elected officials, who have accused officers in the unit of racial bias and violence against protesters. When the city settled claims brought by Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020, the NYPD agreed to limit how the officers could respond to demonstrations.
“We don’t believe that there should be a unit that has both counterterrorism responsibilities and responsibilities to responding to protests,” Mamdani said of the SRG at an unrelated press conference on Wednesday.
Mamdani’s statement comes as demonstrators have repeatedly taken to the streets in the city in recent weeks to protest President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. On Wednesday, he said he’s had conversations with Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch on how best to disband the unit.
Tuesday’s protest
On Tuesday night, dozens of protesters occupied a hotel lobby near Canal Street that they believed ICE was using to lodge immigration enforcement agents, an NYPD spokesperson said.
Over the course of about 45 minutes, officers repeatedly demanded that the protesters leave, according to the spokesperson. When the group did not disperse, NYPD officers, including SRG officers, arrested 66 people, the spokesperson said.
The NYPD said 64 protesters were issued summonses for trespassing and disorderly conduct, while two others were issued desk appearance tickets for resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration.
In a statement, Mamdani praised the protesters for speaking out against ICE, and also said he was pleased with the NYPD’s response to the demonstration.
Renewed pressure
Observers of the protest on Tuesday publicly noted the SRG’s response, and Mamdani faced numerous questions about his plans for the unit when he addressed reporters Wednesday.
In addition to saying he’s still committed to disbanding the unit, Mamdani said until that happens, he expects that SRG will continue to be deployed to city protests.
“That is why we are hard at work to resolving this issue,” he said.
He did not go into detail when asked if it would be replaced with another unit responsible for policing protests.
Mamdani repeatedly criticized SRG on the campaign trail, and tweeted in December 2024 that officers in the unit had “brutalized” countless New Yorkers exercising their First Amendment rights.
In 2023, the city settled a string of lawsuits brought by protesters who said they were assaulted by NYPD officers during demonstrations in the city in the wake of George Floyd’s killing.
Among other reforms, the settlement put limits on when officers from the SRG could be deployed to protests, the New York Civil Liberties Union said at the time.
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