Mamdani wanted NYPD security for wife’s risky trip despite campaign pledge to ‘defund’ police

The NYPD rejected the request, saying it does not deploy officers to countries under the State Department’s highest-level travel warning for personal trips.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office sought NYPD protection for his wife during a planned trip to Syria and Lebanon despite his history of campaigning to reduce police funding and responsibilities.

Mamdani’s office had “strongly” recommended that NYPD officers accompany his wife, Rama Duwaji, on the September trip, the New York Post reported. The mayor did not dispute the report but said the request stemmed from a “misunderstanding.”

The NYPD rejected the request, saying it does not deploy officers to countries under the State Department’s highest-level travel warning for personal trips.

“The NYPD does not send officers to countries with level four travel advisories for discretionary reasons not linked to investigative work,” an NYPD spokesperson said early Tuesday.

“This is not an investigative trip, and therefore, NYPD personnel will not be traveling there for it.”

Duwaji is scheduled to leave Sept. 20 to visit relatives in Syria and Lebanon. Both countries are on the State Department’s “Do Not Travel” list for Americans because of dangerous conditions. Her parents are Syrian American Muslims originally from Damascus.

“It’s not official business. It’s not doing anything for the city,” a source familiar with the trip told the Post.

The report highlighted the potential risks to police officers and questioned why NYPD personnel would be expected to enter countries carrying the State Department’s highest travel warning for a personal trip.

The Post report prompted a clarification from Mamdani, who told a local New York news outlet that “there was a miscommunication” regarding the security terms for Duwaji’s trip.

He added that “when she takes that trip, it will be without any NYPD detail.”

Mamdani has not disclosed whether alternative security will be arranged for his wife. His office has also provided no further details about the visit or whether seeing relatives is its only purpose.

During his campaign, Mamdani advocated reducing NYPD funding and shifting some responsibilities for responding to crime away from the department.

He accused police of discrimination against marginalized communities, supported redirecting police funding and criticized NYPD surveillance practices.

Since taking office, however, Mamdani has faced criticism from the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, of which he is a member, for moving away from some of those positions.

The DSA objected to his commitment to add 580 NYPD officers, saying the move “runs counter to the values of the socialist and working-class movement that elected him.”