Mayor Zohran Mamdani faced renewed scrutiny on Friday morning as two fatal shootings by NYPD officers sparked concerns about his safety plan proposal, a new Department of Community Safety.
The victims involved both exhibited signs of mental health issues prior to the incidents but ultimately escalated into deadly confrontations with police. In one case, the man was said to be brandishing a piece of a broken toilet at an elderly patient and security staff inside Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, while in the other incident, he pointed a fake gun at officers.
Mamdani stated that his priority is ensuring the safety of both officers and New Yorkers, adding that thorough investigations are necessary. However, when asked about whether mental health workers would have been deployed to these emergency calls if his department were already operational, the mayor declined to comment on hypothetical scenarios.
City Councilmember Lincoln Restler emphasized that an existing mental health unit, potentially integrated with the proposed Department of Community Safety, could help prevent such tragedies by addressing root causes. According to Restler, this approach would enable NYPD officers and mental health professionals to coexist in responding to emergency calls involving individuals experiencing a mental health crisis.
The proposal for a new department has already garnered significant attention and support from some officials. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who struggled with police backlash after the 2014 death of Eric Garner, stated that Mamdani’s comments struck a positive note by acknowledging the difficulties officers face in such situations without speculating on the incidents' causes.
However, others stressed the need to shift the focus towards preventing shooting incidents rather than solely investigating individual officer fault. Professor Alex Vitale proposed an alternative approach – a "sentinel review process" aimed at identifying systemic issues that contribute to these tragic events and preventing them from occurring in the future.
The victims involved both exhibited signs of mental health issues prior to the incidents but ultimately escalated into deadly confrontations with police. In one case, the man was said to be brandishing a piece of a broken toilet at an elderly patient and security staff inside Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, while in the other incident, he pointed a fake gun at officers.
Mamdani stated that his priority is ensuring the safety of both officers and New Yorkers, adding that thorough investigations are necessary. However, when asked about whether mental health workers would have been deployed to these emergency calls if his department were already operational, the mayor declined to comment on hypothetical scenarios.
City Councilmember Lincoln Restler emphasized that an existing mental health unit, potentially integrated with the proposed Department of Community Safety, could help prevent such tragedies by addressing root causes. According to Restler, this approach would enable NYPD officers and mental health professionals to coexist in responding to emergency calls involving individuals experiencing a mental health crisis.
The proposal for a new department has already garnered significant attention and support from some officials. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who struggled with police backlash after the 2014 death of Eric Garner, stated that Mamdani’s comments struck a positive note by acknowledging the difficulties officers face in such situations without speculating on the incidents' causes.
However, others stressed the need to shift the focus towards preventing shooting incidents rather than solely investigating individual officer fault. Professor Alex Vitale proposed an alternative approach – a "sentinel review process" aimed at identifying systemic issues that contribute to these tragic events and preventing them from occurring in the future.
I'm not sure if Mayor Mamdani's safety plan is doing enough to address the root causes of these incidents. These two cases are super concerning and it feels like we're just patching up symptoms without looking at the bigger picture 
Like, what about all the other times when people with mental health issues aren't getting the help they need? 
I feel like Mamdani's proposal is more focused on protecting officers than helping those in crisis...
I'm really worried about Mayor Mamdani's proposal for a Department of Community Safety. On one hand, it sounds like a great idea - we need more support for people with mental health issues, especially when they're interacting with law enforcement. But on the other hand, if these kinds of incidents were already being handled by mental health professionals before this department existed, then maybe that's not the solution to our problems... I mean, wouldn't we just be delaying things? 
And what about those mental health workers? Would they even be able to respond in time? We need to think about the feasibility of this proposal and not just get caught up in the 'it could help prevent tragedies' narrative. 
. Two people die because they were having a bad day & officers responded with lethal force 
. We can't just keep saying 'thorough investigations' - what's wrong with taking proactive steps to prevent these incidents from happening in the first place? Integrating mental health workers into emergency calls could save lives, imo 
. It's not about blaming individual officers, it's about identifying systemic issues that need to be addressed 
.
but it's all about how it gets implemented 
which i can get behind 
... two fatalities and it's still about who's to blame 
. I feel for the families of those victims, they must be going through hell right now 
. I think we need more support for mental health workers and training for police officers on how to handle these situations safely 
.
. it makes total sense to have mental health workers on emergency calls too 
. city councilmember lincoln restler is all about integrating the new department with an existing unit, which could prevent such tragedies from happening in the first place 
. but what's up with mayor mamdani not wanting to comment on hypothetical scenarios?