The Democratic Socialists of America are calling on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to fire NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch after a controversial shooting involving ICE agents in the Bronx last week.
In a sharply worded online statement, the DSA urged its most prominent member to remove New York City’s top police official and dismantle two elite NYPD units.
“We demand that Mayor Zohran Mamdani fire NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and use every power available to him to drive ICE out of New York City,” the group said.
The organization also called for the abolition of the NYPD’s Strategic Response and Community Response teams.
The DSA’s demands followed Thursday’s incident in Marble Hill, where federal immigration agents surrounded Oscar Belgal, a suspected gang member, and fired multiple shots into his vehicle. Belgal was wounded in the neck while his 5-year-old son was in the back seat.
At a press briefing several hours later, Tisch said the NYPD had not participated in the operation. She also said Belgal, described as a reputed member of the Trinitarios street gang, had a criminal record that included robbery and drug-distribution charges.
DSA congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier called for Tisch’s resignation the following day, accusing her of shielding what she described as a “militia” of armed ICE agents.
During an interview with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, Chevalier said Belgal’s criminal record “doesn’t even matter” and accused the NYPD of portraying the Dominican immigrant as a villain.
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Appearing Sunday on MS Now, Mamdani was asked about Chevalier’s remarks but did not back away from his decision to keep Tisch in her position. He has pledged to investigate the police response to the shooting and the protests that followed.
“The NYPD was not at the scene when the incident took place, when ICE shot at Mr. Belgal and his 5-year-old son in the car,” Mamdani said.
He said the NYPD responded to a 911 call, arrived at the scene and transported Belgal to a local hospital.
“What I will be doing with the police commissioner is a review of that entire 24-hour period,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani said the Strategic Response Group had not been involved in either the shooting or the police response, but confirmed that he still plans to disband the unit.
Mamdani told The New York Times on Friday that “there are no plans” to change the NYPD’s leadership.
“And I want to be very clear that our administration, alongside the commissioner, alongside the PD, will review all of the events of the last 24 hours, including ICE’s shooting, the Police Department’s response to that incident and the ensuing protest, the staging of ICE operations in privately owned parking lots, and every action the city can take to protect New Yorkers from ICE’s terror,” he told the Times.
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