Embarrassment for Mamdani: NYPD refused to provide security for his wife's trip
Rama Dawaji, the wife of New York Mayor Zoran Mamdani, is expected to visit Syria and Lebanon. The Mayor's office claimed that the police recommended an escort, but the NYPD denied this and clarified that it would not send officers on a private trip.
The NYPD has categorically denied that it will send security personnel to protect Rama Dawaji, the wife of New York Mayor Zoran Mamdani, during her upcoming trip to the Middle East. The public denial creates major embarrassment for the New York City government, which had previously claimed that the police had "strongly recommended" that the Mayor's wife be accompanied by local police officers during the journey.
According to a report in the "New York Post", a spokesperson for the NYPD clarified on Tuesday that "the police do not send officers to countries under a Level 4 travel advisory for personal reasons unrelated to investigative work."
Dawaji, 29, is expected to depart for her trip on September 20, with her first stops being Lebanon and Syria — two countries currently on the US State Department's "Do Not Travel" list, the highest and most severe level of travel advisory.
A source familiar with the details of the trip noted that this is a strictly private family visit. "This is not an official trip, and it has no contribution or activity for the benefit of the city," the source told the "New York Post".
However, another source familiar with the security arrangements for the Mayor's wife claimed that Dawaji — whom Mamdani previously described as a "private citizen" — was the one who explicitly demanded police security, following another trip abroad she took last month without police escort.
On the other hand, the Mayor's office spokesperson, Dora Pakach, tried to present the police escort as a done deal: "Following the strong recommendation of the NYPD, the First Lady's security detail will join her when she travels to visit her family in Syria and Lebanon."
"The police do not send officers to countries under a travel advisory"
The police were quick to reject this claim in unequivocal terms and emphasized once again that since this is not an official investigative trip, police forces will not take part in it.
The public confrontation between the Mayor's office and the police is taking place at a particularly sensitive time: Dawaji's trip coincides with the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
During these days, NYPD resources are expected to be stretched to the limit, a situation that is further exacerbated after Mayor Mamdani himself called on New York residents to take to the streets and protest against the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, during the annual gathering of world leaders.
The Mayor's office has yet to provide a clarification for the clear contradiction between its version and that of the police.
