'Shame on you': NYPD commissioner blasts those who 'blur the distinction' between terrorists and 9/11 heroes as Mamdani sits beside her

New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch called for “moral clarity” ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks as city officials unveiled a new memorial wall at One Police Plaza on Wednesday.

Tisch, alongside Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other city officials, unveiled the wall, which includes 469 names commemorating NYPD police officers who died from illnesses related to Ground Zero. Addressing families of 9/11 first responders, Tisch said that “Preserving that history also means preserving its moral clarity."

“The men who attacked this city were terrorists. The men and women who ran into the towers to save innocent lives were heroes,” she said. “Twenty-five years cannot be allowed to blur that distinction and shame on those who do.”

According to a report by the New York Post, Tisch’s remarks were taken by some attendees as a dig at Mayor Mamdani. This comes just days after an incident in which Mamdani signed an executive order related to recognizing September 11, then asked Tisch to hand a ceremonial pen to his chief counsel, Ramzi Kassem. Kassem is a civil rights attorney who has previously represented an Al-Qaeda terrorist.

“It definitely sounded like she took a shot at the mayor, especially after the pen incident last week,” an attendee told the outlet. 

Mamdani has been facing continued criticism leading up to the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. Last month, the Port Authority Retired Police Association sent a letter to the mayor saying he is not welcome at the memorial ceremony. 

“Your presence at Ground Zero on 9/11 would cause profound pain to members of the 9/11 community and risk turning a solemn day of remembrance into a political controversy,” association President John McDevitt wrote.

The association cited Mamdani’s “rhetoric and affiliations” that have been “hostile to law enforcement.” Mamdani has previously campaigned alongside far-left streamer Hasan Piker, who has stated in the past that America “deserved 9/11.”