Speaker 1 (00:00):
… former president of the Bangladeshi American Police Association, an organization that helped recruit hundreds of Bangladeshis into NYPD. I want to thank Mr. Mamdani for visiting the family members who are here today. It means a lot to the family members and the Bangladeshi community.
(00:25)
But today I speak not only as a former officer, but I speak as someone who feels like a family member grieving, because that's what it feels like. Officer Islam was more than a fellow officer. He was one of us, and losing him feels like losing a brother.
(00:49)
Officer Islam was brutally killed in broad daylight. We knew that risk. We all know the risk when someone takes the oath, but we never truly expect the day would come when someone we know, someone so close is taken away from us so suddenly and so violently.
(01:12)
This tragedy is deeply personal to me, because Officer Islam and I came from the same district in Bangladesh. We spoke the same dialect, we share similar customs, we understand each other, and his death left a hole in our community and in our hearts.
(01:43)
Right after 9/11, just like me, several dozen of us joined the NYPD to do two things. One was to protect a city that we call our home, a city that we love and care, but also to dispel the misconception that you are a Muslim and there is somehow a connection to terrorism. After several years, we decided, I called my friends, to open up the Bangladeshi American Police Association.
(02:23)
Our goal was threefold. One is to increase number of Bangladeshis to NYPD, second was to help them go up the ranks, and the third is to be between the Bangladeshi American community and the police department. But since then, the Bangladeshi community has grown in the NYPD. More families have encouraged their sons and daughters to join, and they have felt pride watching their children to serve New York City as a police officer. But today, the pride is somewhat overwhelmed by pain. This brutal loss has shaken us to the core. It is just not a tragedy for Police Officer Islam's wife, his children, and his family, but it is a tragedy for all of us, for all fellow officers, for all our community. We'll never forget Officer Islam's bravery, his service and his sacrifice. His memory will live on in our hearts and in our community and NYPD.
(03:42)
May Allah grant him highest place in Jannah and will carry forward his legacy, his honor with unity and with love. Thank you very much.
Manny Pastreich (04:01):
First I would just say, Zohran, thank you again for coming to meet with us, meet with Mr. Etienne's family today. And with that, I will turn it over to you.
Zohran Mamdani (04:16):
I want to thank Manny and 32BJ for having us here today and for allowing me the opportunity to convey my heartfelt condolences to Aland's family who we heard from just earlier. I want to thank retired Lieutenant Shamsul Haque, who co-founded the Bangladeshi American Police Association, of which Officer Islam was a member.
(04:48)
I landed back in New York City this morning and went directly to the home of Officer Islam, where I met with members of his family, young and old, who are heartbroken over the loss of their son, of their brother, their father, their husband, their friend, heartbroken in a way that words cannot fully describe. And as we spent close to an hour together, there were moments that stayed with me: Moments like when Officer Islam's sisters asked me, "Who will we call [foreign language 00:05:36] now?", moments like when his brother-in-law told me of how it was Officer Islam that brought him to this country, that took him to get his first learner's permit, that got him his first job working at a restaurant in Union Square where they would speak together every single day, and when he told me that for him, Officer Islam was an open door, and now that door would be forever closed.
(06:08)
I know that in the way in which that home is shattered, the way in which it is quieter and emptier than ever before, there are other homes across this city experiencing that same kind of loss. Other homes where families are asking themselves questions for which there are no answers. And while we grieve the loss and the murder of four New Yorkers, we know that there are others recuperating now in hospital, and that millions of New Yorkers are praying for them all.
(06:43)
And while I will not say the name of the gunman, I want to talk about those that we lost. We've heard from Aland's family of a man who was the father of two children. We've read of how his smile lit up every room, how it was as warm as it was infectious, and of a man who did a job that is so often overlooked. And yet, it is that first greeting that so many feel when they come home, and so it was him that was also in that first line of fire just a few days ago.
(07:25)
We've heard of Officer Islam, a police officer who leaves behind two young children, a pregnant wife due to give birth just in the next month, two aging parents, one of whom is struggling in his own health.
(07:49)
And we know also of Wesley LePatner, who was a New Yorker that shone brightly across this city, who served on the boards of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the UJA Federation, the Heschel School, who served on the board of the Yale University Library Council, who is remembered by friends and by colleagues for the incredible achievements she leaves behind, and for the two children and husband that mourn her today, as do all New Yorkers.
(08:29)
And also of Julia Hyman, a 27-year-old New Yorker who grew up here, who attended Riverdale High School, captained three different teams in her senior year, attended Cornell University, for which she just went to a five-year reunion, and was remembered by colleagues at her workplace today as a superstar. A life cut short by a senseless act of violence.
(08:56)
And as New Yorkers across the five boroughs and Americans across the country mourn this mass shooting, we are reminded that no matter how strong our gun laws are in this state, we are only as safe as the weakest laws in this nation. So, in this moment, the onus is on all of us to follow the words of Aland's brother and to put forward a vision of stronger gun laws.
(09:31)
And I echo the call from Governor Hochul for a nationwide ban on assault rifles, as it is horrifying to each and every one of us in this room and beyond that a man with such documented mental health struggles was able to purchase a weapon, leave alone a weapon of such devastating capability. And we know that the consequences of national inaction, though we feel them this week in Midtown, we know that they join a list of so many other places across this country, be they Uvalde, be they El Paso, be they Sandy Hook, be they Charleston.
(10:12)
As mayor, I will lead calls to ensure that we pass the legislation necessary beyond New York, such that every New Yorker can rest assured that we need not prepare for the next iteration of this horrific mass shooting. And we know that mass shootings are sadly all too familiar for New Yorkers themselves, as we experience them whether on our street corners or even on public transit. And though we have made strides towards making this city one that is free of that gun violence, we know that there is so much work to be done.
(10:50)
And in this moment of mourning and of grief, I want to thank law enforcement for their response to the horrific shooting on Monday and
Zohran Mamdani (11:00):
… their work in keeping New Yorkers safe. I ask that in this moment we come together as New Yorkers, and we remember the four of our neighbors that were killed. We honor their memories and we live up to the way in which they led their lives. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Marcia?
Marcia (11:21):
How are you doing? Welcome back.
Zohran Mamdani (11:24):
Thank you.
Marcia (11:25):
I'm wondering, I know you just talked about the fact that you wanted to honor the people who responded yesterday, I mean, Monday. The reason I'm asking this, because I wonder if your views about the NYPD have changed over time, especially in light of this shooting and the fact that both Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Adams have criticized your past statements about the SRG, the Strategic Response Group, which did respond because they claimed that you said it should be disbanded. Do you still believe that? And do you want to send any kind of a message of healing to the police department about things that now have developed?
Zohran Mamdani (12:06):
Over the course of this race, I've been very clear about my view of public safety and the critical role that police have in creating that. Public safety that officers are tasked with delivering while we ask them to respond to nearly every failure of the social safety net. And the vision that we've put forward in this campaign, despite what others may say, is not to defund the police, it is in fact to allow those officers to respond to these serious crimes that many of them signed up to address, and to do so by ensuring that we ask them to focus on those crimes, and we ask mental health professionals to respond to calls of mental health crises. And as it pertains to the Strategic Response Group, when it was first formed, there was an intention for its use to be more akin to the manner in which it was deployed earlier this week.
(12:59)
What we have found, however, is the city has come to rely upon the Strategic Response Group as its primary means of response to acts of protests across the city, when New Yorkers exercise their First Amendment rights. And that decision in asking the members of that unit to respond to protests as opposed to what was the stated reason, is a decision that has led to the violation of a number of New Yorker's civil rights. And it's a decision that has been the basis of my critique of the use of the group towards that end.
(13:31)
And what I would also say in this moment, is that it is beyond me that politicians are looking to use these days to score such cynical political points on the very day that I held the father of Officer Islam in my arms as he could not utter a single word. And as I felt him sobbing at the memory of his 36-year-old son who will never come home. To visit that family, to meet those children, to understand what this man meant to so many, and to hear from his brother-in-law that today was the day that they had timed their vacation together, so that they could visit a water park in New Jersey. And that the brother-in-law's children knew they were supposed to go, Officer Islam's children knew they were supposed to go, and yet they were at home mourning a father who will never return. This is a time to honor those memories. This is a time to lead this city in coming together, not a moment to try and score the very points that turn so many New Yorkers away from politics.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Henry?
Henry (14:52):
Hi Mr. Mamdani.
Zohran Mamdani (14:52):
Hi.
Henry (14:53):
Welcome.
Zohran Mamdani (14:53):
Thank you.
Henry (14:54):
I'm sorry that you're coming back to this as we all are.
Zohran Mamdani (14:56):
Thank you.
Henry (14:57):
I was actually just with former Governor Cuomo and he was asked specifically about the statement I believe you already made a day or two ago, that chief political points, which you just said should not be scored in a moment like this. And he said effectively, "If he doesn't like it, perhaps he should retract some of the words he has said previously," talking about police being racist or anti-LGBTQ or that they should be defunded or dismantled. So this is a little bit of what Marcia asked, but as you've grown and reflected, and I feel in fairness too, you've been good about talking about growing and reflecting and always having conversations. Do you wish you hadn't said some of those things a few years back?
Zohran Mamdani (15:40):
My statements in 2020 were ones made amidst a frustration that many New Yorkers held at the murder of George Floyd and the inability to deliver on what Eric Adams of all people described as the right for all of us to be able to enjoy safety and justice, that we need not choose between the two. I know that Governor Cuomo is far more comfortable in the past, whether it be his own or whether it be in attacking me for tweets made before I was even an Assembly member. What I have said time and time again, is the campaign that I am leading, the campaign that I am asking New Yorkers to consider, is one that has been clear on its public safety approach. It's one that speaks about a desire to work with police officers.
(16:39)
And what has been quite frustrating to me, has been the inability of so many, including the former governor, to reckon with the crisis we face in this moment where 200 officers are leaving the department every month. A leading cause of this is forced overtime, and all they have to offer, they being these politicians of the past, are the same ideas they put forward years ago. What I am speaking of is a vision that will not only address public safety, but also keep officers in this very police department, will ensure that they can actually respond to the crimes that are being committed in this city. Because as we've seen in the first quarter of this year, we were only able to resolve 35% of all of those crimes that were reported. And part of that is a reflection of asking officers to do nearly every single thing we can think of.
(17:29)
And so I'm proud of the public safety platform we've put together. And I would say that for the former governor to have spent an entire day speaking almost exclusively about me, and barely about the New Yorkers who have been killed, is indicative of the very politics New Yorkers want to leave in the past. We want to honor the New Yorkers who have been taken from us far too soon. We want to know their stories. They are not merely statistics. We want to know of their smiles, their hopes, their dreams. And yet here we have a former governor calling every reporter he can find to speak about tweets. What kind of leadership is that?
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Melissa?
Melissa (18:11):
Hi, Zohran.
Zohran Mamdani (18:12):
Hi, Melissa.
Melissa (18:14):
Welcome back.
Zohran Mamdani (18:15):
Thank you.
Melissa (18:16):
I want to ask you actually to tell us a little bit about your trip, but first, if possible, you've said that people need to come together, and this is obviously in the same vein as Henry and Marcia's questions, but you're saying that people need to come together. Do you bear some of the responsibility for having said such negative things about the NYPD, in some instances that their tears are healing the world? Or are you saying you've grown since then and are you part of the coming together? Do you need to change your message or say something different? And if so, what is that message for people about how you'll support law enforcement, how you will feel towards your police officers, but also when you're done with that, you can tell us about-
Zohran Mamdani (19:07):
Yes. To be the mayor of this city is to work closely with law enforcement to deliver that public safety. And the experience that I've had in running for mayor has been a privilege in getting to know more and more rank-and-file members of the department, in understanding just how difficult we have made their job. And as I visited Officer Islam's home this morning and met with another officer who told me of how she has sadly had to console other families of police officers in the past, it is clear to me as it is clear to so many New Yorkers, of the immense risk that so many take upon when they do this work. And what I will be as the mayor, is someone who recognizes the work that these officers do, who looks to ensure that they can actually deliver on that same work that brought them to this department, and who is focused on the outcome of public safety.
(20:05)
Because what has happened far too often is a distilling of that which either provides or denies New Yorker's safety into a political discourse, where we spend far more of our time trying to score these kinds of points than in asking ourselves how can we ensure that New Yorkers are safe? And while we have made strides in that safety, clearly we are still home to a site of a senseless mass shooting. And so there is much work for us to do here in New York City, but there's also so much work to be done at a national level. And that is why again, I appreciate Governor Hochul taking this moment to point, not only New Yorkers, but Americans, towards a way in which we can ensure that history does not repeat itself.
Melissa (20:48):
Can I follow up briefly?
Zohran Mamdani (20:49):
Please.
Melissa (20:50):
Since I don't hear you saying… You're not retracting what you said in the past. You're not saying, "I no longer feel like police are racist." These tweets are going to keep resurfacing by your rivals. How will you avoid, as a candidate, this subject coming up again and again if you're not addressing those words and putting them into a [inaudible 00:21:11] context?
Zohran Mamdani (21:13):
Andrew Cuomo wishes he was running against me in the past. He wishes that he was still living in the past where he was the governor of this state. The sad reality for him is that he's running against me now in 2025, and despite his attempt at running an entire primary campaign based upon finding every tweet that he can, that is in direct contradiction to the policies and the politics that I am running on, New Yorkers were able to see through that and elect me as the democratic nominee with the most votes in the history of New York City mayoral primaries. And so if he wants to continue to try and litigate a race based upon tweets that are clearly out of step with the vision that I have, with the statements that I have put forward, then he's free to do so because what he will find is that New Yorkers are more focused
Zohran Mamdani (22:00):
… focus on the now, and the vision that we have for the future, than they are on an attempt to litigate this city through a medium of tweets.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
Did you want to say anything about your wedding celebration? How you spent the last couple weeks away?
Zohran Mamdani (22:15):
It was a pleasure and a privilege to celebrate my wife, Rama, and my marriage in the city that I was born, Kampala, Uganda, with family and friends that have raised me, to reunite even with the doctor who delivered me 33 years ago in Nsambya Hospital, and to take a moment to appreciate all those around us who make us who we are, and to know that there may not be those same moments in the future, and this is in one precious time that we had. And it was a pleasure to be there, and it is a pleasure to be home in New York City.
Speaker 4 (23:01):
Gloria, [inaudible 00:23:03].
Speaker 5 (23:03):
[inaudible 00:23:03]. I wonder-
Zohran Mamdani (23:04):
Hi.
Speaker 5 (23:04):
I wonder what the former governor brought up as well yesterday, and his many comments was that comments like the ones you've made are part of the reason why the NYPD and many other police departments across the country are having a hard time recruiting officers, retaining officers. And that he believes it's language like that that has really affected the morale of departments across the nation. I guess I wonder if you should speak directly to police officers in this moment, especially the security officer that was [inaudible 00:23:40], but also the police officer that was working security for that building, a young veteran of the department. Many of these young police officers really need to have a second job, talk directly to police officers in the city, in this moment who see the language, who see the political discourse, who wonder if that's no longer a career that they should pursue, or [inaudible 00:24:05].
Zohran Mamdani (24:06):
To the families of Aland, and Officer Islam, and to security guards and police officers across this city, I want to thank them for the work that they do each and every day. And as we heard earlier, it is oftentimes work that is overlooked. It is work that we do not remember until moments such as this. And it is work that is difficult, it is work that inspires questions like the one that was asked by Officer Islam's mother when he went from being a school safety agent to becoming a police officer. She asked, "Why do you want to take on a job that is so dangerous?" And he said, "To leave a legacy behind that his family would be proud of." And I know that that is a conversation that so many have across the city, and it is work that I truly appreciate.
(25:02)
And looking at the crisis of retention that we have in this city today, to try and pin it upon tweets from five years ago as opposed to the conditions of this moment, is to ignore what officers themselves are saying. When you ask officers why they leave, one of the leading causes they cite is forced overtime, an inability to have a quality of life when they know they're actually going to come home. These are the kinds of things that we have to address to ensure that not only can we keep the officers we have on the job, but that we can also deliver on public safety. And I ask that in our focus on this, we remember the officers themselves, and not the discourse that is had as if it is in the interest of those officers when, often, it is motivated by partisan politics.
Speaker 4 (26:03):
Berta.
Speaker 6 (26:04):
Are you going to go to the funeral of Officer Islam? And also, when you talked to his family today, did any of them bring up any of these concerns, the tweets, your past policies on the NYPD? Did any of that come up?
Zohran Mamdani (26:17):
None of that came up. They thanked me for coming to their home. His brother-in-law, officer Hassan, who is serving as the spokesperson for the family, told me that, in fact, he and Officer Islam had seen me once in person at Eid prayers, and they had wanted to say hello, but there were too many people in between, and they never got the chance. And Officer Hassan invited me to the funeral tomorrow, an invitation that I will take him up on, and I will attend.
(26:52)
They are a family that deserve the support of this city. They deserve the support of our leadership, and they deserve to be at the center of this story. Their pain, their sorrow, their heartbreak at a man who was the glue of their lives, I cannot tell you what role he played in this community. His family lives across Parkchester, Astoria, Jamaica, a family that has celebrated him for years, that has looked to him as a person they can all count on.
(27:36)
He had been asked by a family friend if he could help them simply attend a viewing of a home, the potential that this person could purchase their first home, and he said yes. In spite of the fact that he's working two jobs, in spite of the fact that he's a father of two, soon to be one of three, in spite of the fact of all the responsibilities he had. And that same friend called today in tears to the family, that not only had he lost a friend, that he had lost a guide, a brother, a bhaiya. And it is a sorrow that none of us can ever truly know, but it is one that we must, at the very least, attempt to understand.
Speaker 6 (28:17):
And that was your first stop after coming back from Uganda, talk to me about that? You've had security concerns, did you fly commercial? Did you fly private? I know the Post reported on extra security at your wedding celebration, was that a heightened sense of security? And did you have any issues going through customs?
Zohran Mamdani (28:36):
My life is sadly not the one that it was. There are far more threats, and with that, comes precautions that I wish I didn't have to take, though they are also precautions that I'm immensely grateful for, especially in the example of the NYPD detail that I have here in New York City. And yes, I flew commercial, economy both ways, and I did not have issues getting through customs, though I was prepared for the potential of those issues. And that is a sad reality of living in our president's United States.
(29:13)
And as you said, I traveled directly to visit the family. I had called them in advance to ask if that was something that I could do, they had welcomed me into their home, they refused to let me leave until I had breakfast with them. They are an embodiment of so much of what makes this city the one that we love. And it is not lost upon me that both Officer Islam and Aland Etienne were immigrants, who came to this city in the hopes of a better life. Immigrants whose own sacrifices made it possible for their own family members to have better lives. You heard from Aland's brother, speaking of how he was able to become such a prolific filmmaker because of his brother's work as a security guard.
(29:59)
I heard from members of Officer Islam's family of how a man with already so many responsibilities was still eager to help those who were in need. And as I've made calls to either the family or colleagues of all of the victims, I have heard time and time again of a sorrow and a heartbreak of lives that were cut so short, no matter if they were 27, if they were 36, or if they were in their 50s, we are speaking of New Yorkers who had so much left to offer the world, and who leave behind families that cannot fully comprehend what it means to live in this world without them.
Speaker 4 (30:42):
Yeah, Liz.
Speaker 7 (30:44):
You talked about the SRG as originally being created for, I guess emergency responses, as opposed to dealing with protests, civil unrest. I'm curious if you've thought about, if you were to be mayor, how would you re-envision how the NYPD… What kind of officers they deploy both to emergency response and also protests? It sounds like you want to disentangle.
Zohran Mamdani (31:14):
I think what we saw on Monday was an example of how we would want a response to look like to an emergency. What we also see, however, in this city, is the treatment of protest as if it requires the same. And New York City is a city that is proud of its history with protests, and its exercise of the First Amendment, and what we have seen, however, is an inability to follow the rules and regulations that protects the rights of all those New Yorkers who exercise them. And what I am interested in as an outcome is how to live up to that city where New Yorkers need not choose between safety and justice, where both are delivered. And that means abiding by the rules that we've seen on kettling, that also means ensuring that we do not settle for misconduct lawsuit after misconduct lawsuit as it pertains to protests and the policing of those protests, but instead, we change the manner in which we respond to those protests in the first place.
Speaker 7 (32:20):
So you would disbanded the SRG, but would come up with another emergency response team?
Zohran Mamdani (32:25):
There is a need to ensure that every act we take is one that is actually delivering public safety. And what we see right now, especially with regards to how we respond to protests, is not in line with that.
Speaker 4 (32:36):
Yeah, Chris.
Speaker 8 (32:36):
Thank you. Did Officer Islam's family say anything about whether they're inviting Andrew Cuomo to the funeral tomorrow? Then I also wanted to ask about your trip. While you were away, some of your critics found it offensive that you didn't try to return to New York City earlier after what happened Monday. Did you try to return earlier?
Zohran Mamdani (00:00):
Zohran Mamdani (33:00):
Officer Islam's family did not bring up the former governor in the time that I spent with them. I was originally scheduled to return this morning to depart Uganda on the 29th of July. As news of the shooting broke, my team and I looked into earlier possible travel back to New York City and found in fact that our originally scheduled trip was still the earliest possible time that I could return to New York City.
Speaker 10 (33:36):
Yeah, right here.
Speaker 9 (33:39):
Just curious, the phrase defund the police has essentially become relatively toxic in the past few years given [inaudible 00:33:46], but you had said that you do want to reduce the budget for overtime over at the NYPD instead. What exactly is the difference between defunding the police and that? How would that have likely prevented what happened yesterday?
Zohran Mamdani (34:08):
Calling for a reduction in overtime is a call that nearly every candidate has made over the course of this campaign. And even Mayor Adams ran on in 2021 pledging, I think, to cut it in half within a short period of time. And what it speaks to is not just the way in which that we have seen that number rise year after year without any attempt at answering the cause of it. But also to what I was saying earlier, which is that many officers who are leaving the department, of which we see 200 every single month, cite forced overtime as a reason that they depart because they do not know when their shift will end. They are working doubles, they are working triples. And we are asking these officers to do far more than any one person should be doing.
(35:01)
And so what I am looking to do is lead a police department whose focus is on public safety, whose focus is on retaining the police officers that we have, and on ensuring that we are asking officers to do the job that they signed up to do, not to respond to the failures of city government's ability to respond to the ripping apart of our social safety net.
Speaker 9 (35:25):
How would a Department of Community Safety be any better in terms of replacing what you're calling [inaudible 00:35:36]
Zohran Mamdani (35:36):
The Department of Community Safety would not replace the work of the NYPD, it would be done in tandem with the NYPD. And what the Department of Community Safety would do is cohere what are currently a set of responsibilities that are siloed in different parts of city government, responsibilities like gun violence prevention, homelessness, mental health crises, hate crimes, victim services. And what we've seen, especially as it pertains to gun violence prevention, is we know that there are successful strategies that can be employed that have been shown to have effect in the manner that was intended here in New York City, but are still not operating at the full scale. They are still operating at a pilot level. And that's why we have put forward proposals to increase the funding for not only the crisis management system, but also the manner in which New York City approaches gun violence prevention.
(36:25)
And I look to inspiration for what other police departments have done elsewhere in the country where we have seen a police chief describe the manner in which, to use his words, hugging the cactus allowed the police department to focus on serious crimes. And what he meant by that was coming to terms with the fact that the incredible number of mental health calls that the department was being asked to be responsible for was prohibiting them from responding to the very crimes that they had all signed up to respond to. Today the NYPD receives around 200,000 mental health calls a year and we know that in asking them to respond to those, we are also making it more difficult for them to respond to the very kinds of crimes that New Yorkers look to the NYPD to be their first responders to.
Speaker 10 (37:23):
We'll take two more questions and we have to wrap. Emma?
Speaker 12 (37:26):
Hi.
Speaker 10 (37:26):
Hi.
Speaker 12 (37:27):
So can you tell us were you asleep when the shooting happened, were you awoken during the night and then in those hours afterwards, I think it was like 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning where you were, did you speak with the mayor, the police commissioner? It sounds like you spoke with the families before you got on the flight.
Zohran Mamdani (37:42):
I was awoken by a member of my team, Morris Katz, around 4:00 AM local time in Uganda and informed of the news of the shooting, soon after which we put out a statement. In the day that followed, I spoke to a number of New Yorkers, including families and or colleagues of victims, conversations that continue through this day. And I have not spoken with the mayor at this time.
Speaker 12 (38:19):
What about the police commissioner?
Zohran Mamdani (38:19):
I've had a brief conversation with the police commissioner.
Speaker 10 (38:21):
Okay, last question. Morgan.
Speaker 11 (38:23):
Hi. Thank you so much for taking questions. So I just wanted do the follow-up. There was some tweets that have been surfacing and one of them you say that nature is healing, tweeting one where a cop is crying, was asking about it before. I just think when some people see these tweets, a lot of people in New York City have family members who are law enforcement and it seems to be mocking a mental health of cops where mental health for cops is already on the rise, especially those struggling with mental health. So I just wanted to give you a chance to respond and really show and explain exactly what are your going to be intentions to maybe help with the mental health of police officers and exactly with those statements, could you help clarify and help explain why you said what you said and what you hope to say in the future?
Zohran Mamdani (39:22):
To be very clear, as I have been over the course of this campaign, I am not defunding the police. I'm not running to defund the police. Andrew Cuomo is far more comfortable living his life in the past and then attacking tweets of 2020 than in running against the campaign that we have been leading for the last eight months. The tweet that you referred to is a tweet that is out of step with the way in which I not only view police officers, the immense work that they do in this city, but also the seriousness with which we need to treat that work and the difficulties that come with that work. And so much of what I've shared today has been out of a vision of how to deliver on that which motivated so many to join the department.
(40:28)
I am, as was said by Henry earlier, running as a candidate who is not fixed in time, one that learns and one that leads. And part of that means admitting as I have grown, and part of that also means focusing on the people who deserve to be spoken about because our politics too often creates incentives to spend moments of mourning discussing other candidates, when in fact many of these victims have not even been buried yet. We are speaking of families who are organizing funerals, and these families' focus is solely on those that they have lost. And we have seen that what they deserve is a moment of empathy, of support, of honor, and what they deserve in the future is one of leadership that seeks to those things while ensuring that our focus is on delivering that public safety. And that is who I will be as the next mayor.
Speaker 10 (41:47):
Thank you everybody.
Zohran Mamdani (41:48):
Thank you.
Audience (41:48):
[inaudible 00:42:00]