In a recent episode of The View, Zohran Mamdani, a candidate for the New York City mayoral race, reiterated his controversial proposal of deploying social workers instead of police officers to respond to mental health calls.
This is the same Mamdani who previously described the New York Police Department (NYPD) as "wicked," "corrupt," "racist," "anti-queer," and even "a threat to public safety." Despite asserting that his views have matured, he continues to advocate for the replacement of armed officers with unarmed civilians in some of the most perilous situations officers encounter.
During his appearance on The View, Mamdani attempted to reframe his position, shifting his rhetoric from "defund" to "invest." However, the implications remain unchanged: removing officers from the front lines and entrusting life-or-death calls to unarmed civilians.
When questioned about whether he would publicly apologize to the officers he had labeled a "threat," he declined, offering private "conversations" as an alternative. Such statements are not mere slips of the tongue; they reveal a clear intent.
According to the Daily Caller, Mamdani's stance has not significantly evolved since his 2020 podcast interview, where he stated, "You know, if somebody is jaywalking, if somebody is surviving, you know, going through domestic violence there are so many different situations that would be far better handled by people trained to deal with those specific situations, as opposed to an individual with a gun."
Regrettably, domestic violence calls are far from routine. They are potential ambushes. The tragic incidents in Pittsburgh in 2009 and Pennsylvania in 2025, where officers were fatally shot while responding to domestic disputes, serve as stark reminders of the inherent dangers.
The city that Mamdani aspires to lead has also witnessed its share of violence during domestic calls. In 2022, an NYPD officer was killed and his partner injured while responding to a domestic violence call in Harlem. A year later, another officer was nearly killed during a similar call in Brooklyn. In 2024, two officers were shot in Brooklyn when a "routine domestic violence call" escalated into a life-threatening situation.
These incidents are not anomalies. As any police officer knows, a "domestic" call could be their last. The FBI's Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted database reveals that 43 officers were killed while responding to domestic disturbance or domestic violence calls between 2011 and 2020, accounting for 8.5% of the total officers killed during that period.
Mamdani's proposal is not about enhancing the safety of victims. If it were, he would show respect for those who run towards danger while others flee. However, his derogatory remarks about officers suggest otherwise.
His contempt for the police undermines his claim of impartiality regarding their role in responding to these calls. This is not reform; it is bias masquerading as policy.
Mamdani and his supporters insult every badge by implying that a clipboard and good intentions can substitute for backup and body armor. This approach endangers social workers, burdens officers with the task of protecting unarmed civilians in hazardous situations, and abandons victims who dial 911 in fear.
The real danger lies in the attitude of the social workers who are expected to step into these situations. Many of them openly disdain the very officers they would be working alongside, displaying an arrogance that is not only dangerous but also forces police to manage two fronts: a violent suspect and a defiant, untrained civilian who believes they know better.
When a victim is trapped in a bedroom amidst a hail of bullets, they don't need theories, lectures, or "alternatives." They need backup. They need an officer who can fight to save their life.
This is the reality that Mamdani refuses to acknowledge..
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