Mamdani to dismantle 600-officer strong NYPD unit that responds to violent protests, terror threats

According to Politico, the planned overhaul targets the Strategic Response Group (SRG), whose responsibilities extend beyond demonstrations to major emergencies and deployments in neighborhoods needing additional police coverage.

One option under consideration would place civilians in charge of the initial response to protests, with police officers positioned nearby to intervene and make arrests when necessary. The civilian team would emphasize de-escalation and could operate within Mamdani’s Office of Community Safety.

The proposal comes despite Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch’s defense of the SRG’s role in handling demonstrations involving criminal activity.

At a March City Council budget hearing, Tisch said the department facilitated 4,255 protests during 2025 and that the SRG was available at 245 of them, approximately 6 percent, Fox News reported. She said the unit generally responds when demonstrations involve criminal activity, rather than routinely handling peaceful protests.

Tisch also described her discussions with Mamdani at the time as concerning “the future of how we police protests generally,” rather than eliminating the unit.

The NYPD’s description of the SRG includes responding to shootings, bank robberies, missing-person incidents, and large public gatherings. Its officers can also be assigned to areas experiencing increased crime.

Mamdani has argued that the unit’s counterterrorism duties should be separated from its involvement in demonstrations.

“What it has eventually become is both dealing with counterterrorism and responses to exercising First Amendment rights,” Mamdani said during a September press conference.

“I do not believe that those purposes need to be dual purposes. I believe that we should have a focus on counterterrorism that is separate from our response to the use of First Amendment — [that] continues to be a conversation I'm having with our police commissioner.”

City Hall has confirmed that eliminating the SRG remains the administration’s objective.

“As the Mayor has said, our administration will disband the Strategic Response Group and separate protest response from counterterrorism,” spokesperson Dora Pekec told Politico. “We will have more to share soon.”

Sources told Politico that the changes could be implemented through an executive order. Details of how the city would redistribute the unit’s personnel and counterterrorism responsibilities had not been publicly announced.