Alyssa Farah Griffin pressed New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani about his past comments regarding the New York Police Department when he visited The View Wednesday (Oct. 1).
Griffin pointed out that Mamdani had previously accused the NYPD of being “racist, anti-queer, and a threat to public safety.” But when she asked if he has “formally apologized to the NYPD,” Mamdani said he has been meeting “individually” with officers.
“These are conversations that I’m having individually with officers and I’ve appreciated that, because through those conversations with these rank and file officers that I’ve learned more about the difficulties of this job,” he responded.
Mamdani explained that the number of officers leaving the NYPD has recently increased from 200 to 350 officers per month.
“When you ask officers why, they’ll tell you [it’s because of] forced overtime,” Mamdani told the View hosts, later explaining, “We’re asking cops to do everything we can think of. We’re asking them to handle mental health calls, we’re asking them to deal with homelessness. Every year now, cops respond to 200,000 mental health calls.”
Mamdani added that part of his campaign platform includes creating a Department of Community Safety to relieve the NYPD of dealing with homelessness and mental health crises, as he noted, “So that we don’t deal have response times we have today, which are closer to 16 minutes.”
Griffin also pointed out that Mamdani has “walked back” comments he’s made about the NYPD during his mayoral campaign.
“How can New Yorkers trust you and not be concerned that consultants are getting in your ear to get you elected but you still hold all of those positions?” she asked.
Mamdani responded, “They can rest assured that it isn’t consultants in my ear. I think this is another part to be a young person looking to lead is also to leave the opening for growth and understanding.”
“Behind the headlines, behind the caricatures, we’re speaking about police officers who are just trying to do their best,” he said. “My job as a mayor is to represent those officers who put their lives on the line, represent the Muslim New Yorkers who are illegally surveilled, represent Black and brown New Yorkers who have been victims of police brutality and do all of it with commitment.” When Griffin added Jewish-Americans, he agreed, adding, “Everybody. This is a run-on sentence that includes every New Yorker.”
Whoopi Goldberg gave him some praise at the end of the segment when they ran out time.
“I will say this about you,” she said. “Admitting to growing up is a great thing.”
The View airs on weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.