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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s recent reactions to law enforcement, which some have interpreted as pushing back against the New York Police Department, likely won’t hurt him as much as previous mayors, a local crime expert told Fox News Digital, and could end up working to his overall political advantage.
“It may not hurt Mamdani in the way that it might hurt another mayor,” Manhattan Institute Fellow Rafael Mangual.
“I do think that Zohran Mamdani is okay with being an opponent and a critic of the NYPD. I think he comes from a sort of ideological perspective that does not believe that the NYPD actually reduces crime. So, if the NYPD pulls back and crime goes up, I think he will see that as an opportunity to further criticize the NYPD and point to reasons why it should be defunded in favor of this Department of Community Safety and some of these other proposals that he would much rather invest in.”
Two significant events in the city indicate that the mayor will not defend the police department, according to Mangual, and could result in cops pulling back due to lack of support. They include an incident last month in Washington Square Park, dubbed “Snowballgate,” where a mob of roughly 100 people pelted NYPD officers with snowballs, leaving two officers injured.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks to reporters during a news conference in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Rather than condemning the assault, Mamdani appeared to downplay the violence, referring to the perpetrators as “kids” taking part in a snowball fight.
“Mamdani did not come out in support of the NYPD in that incident. Instead, he seemed to kind of brush it off and even refused to call for the prosecution of the perpetrators,” Mangual said, adding that the actions of the mob clearly qualified as an assault against police officers.
“Unfortunately, I think the mayor’s response was found wanting. He seemed unwilling to condemn it as an assault. He seemed unwilling to even say that it was something that shouldn’t be done in the future, and I think that is going to create a sense in the NYPD that this administration does not have their back.”
Perhaps more concerning, according to Mangual, was Mamdani’s reaction to a recent officer-involved shooting in Queens where, despite bodycam footage showing an officer being immediately attacked with a deadly weapon after entering a home at the owner’s invitation, Mamdani called on the district attorney to not prosecute the knife wielding suspect who was reportedly having a mental health episode.
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Additionally, Mamdani visited the attacker and his family after the incident.
“For Mayor Mamdani to come out and not just meet with the family as if this individual is some sort of crime victim, but to also make an open call to the Queens DA not to prosecute the individual for the obvious and clear assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, I think is just completely irresponsible,” Mangual said.
“But it also will reinforce that sense in the NYPD that I think is already existing: that this administration is an opponent, not a partner. And if that dynamic continues and it reaches further down into the rank and file, I do think that the city is going to see a more reluctant police force at a time in which it needs it to be proactive.”
As a candidate, Mamdani attempted to distance himself from previous support of police defunding but faced backlash last month when he announced that part of his plan to balance the budget involves cutting the NYPD’s budget and canceling 5K new officer hires.
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In front of a painting of Alexander Hamilton, Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks to reporters about the city’s finances during a news conference in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (Seth Wenig/AP Photo)
“I think what we’ve seen in the early days of this administration is that Mamdani is not yet willing to position himself as an open partner of the NYPD,” Mangual said. “He is still trying to make a decision about whether he is going to lean into his more natural identity of an opponent of the NYPD.”
The NYPD is “between a rock and a hard place” under Mamdani, Mangual said, adding that officers will be “less likely to put their lives on the line for a city that they do not feel has their back.”
“He’d be perfectly happy with a world in which he can say, ‘Look, the NYPD is a failure, it’s not keeping crime down, it’s time to try other approaches,'” Mangual said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment.
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