DSA Demands NYC Mayor Mamdani Fire Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch Over ICE Shooting

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) have demanded that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani dismiss NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch following a controversial ICE shooting incident in the Bronx last week.

Call for Dismissal and Disbandment

In a strongly worded statement published online, the organization called upon its most prominent member to remove the city's police chief and dismantle two elite NYPD units. "We demand that Mayor Zohran Mamdani fire NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and use every authority at his disposal to expel ICE agents from New York," the statement read, as quoted by the New York Post. Additionally, the group demanded the dissolution of the Strategic Response Group and the Community Response Team.

The left-wing organization expressed outrage after federal immigration agents surrounded Oscar Belgal, a suspected gang member, in the Marble Hill neighborhood last Thursday. Agents fired several shots at his car, wounding him in the neck while his five-year-embang son sat in the back seat.

Defense and Political Fallout

Tisch clarified during a press briefing hours later that the NYPD was not involved in the operation. However, she noted that Belgal, a known member of the Trinitarios street gang, has a troubled criminal record including robbery and drug distribution charges. DSA congressional candidate Dialyze Avila Chevalier called for Tisch's resignation the day after the shooting, accusing her of protecting a "militia" of armed immigration thugs. In an interview, Chevalier added that Belgal's criminal record "does not matter at all," accusing the police of turning the Dominican migrant into a villain.

According to the New York Post report, Mayor Mamdani made it clear in media interviews that he has no intention of changing police leadership at this stage, despite internal pressure. "The NYPD was not at the scene when the incident occurred, when immigration agents fired at Mr. Belgal and his five-year-embang son in the car," Mamdani said. He noted that police received an emergency call, arrived at the scene, and evacuated Belgal to a local hospital.

"What I will do alongside the police commissioner is a review of these entire 24 hours," the mayor added.

Mamdani further emphasized that the Strategic Response Group was not involved in the incident or the response to it at all, but noted his intention to disband it. In an interview with The New York Times, the mayor promised that the administration would review all events, including the police response to the shooting and subsequent protests, and examine any action the city can take to "protect New Yorkers from ICE terror."