Mamdani to disband the NYPD's riot unit and separate protests from counterterrorism
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is preparing to announce a plan to disband the New York Police Department's Strategic Response Group (SRG), the unit of about 600 officers that responds to protests, civil disturbances and terrorist threats, Politico reported on Thursday.
City Hall spokesperson Dora Pekec confirmed the decision to Politico: “As the Mayor has said, our administration will disband the Strategic Response Group and separate protest response from counterterrorism.” Sources familiar with the plan said the announcement could come this week, possibly by executive order.
Disbanding the SRG was a campaign promise from Mamdani, who wrote in December 2024 that the unit had cost taxpayers millions in lawsuit settlements and had mistreated New Yorkers exercising their right to protest. The mayor argues that counterterrorism and protest response should not be in the same hands.
The SRG was created in 2015, after the Bataclan massacre in Paris, and in addition to protests it handles emergencies, shootings, robberies and large events. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch has defended the unit, noting that in 2025 the NYPD facilitated 4,255 protests and the SRG was available at 245 of them, about 6 percent. One option under consideration is to place the unit under the new Office of Community Safety and have civilians lead the first response to protests.
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