The 2 potential picks — Rodney Harrison and Isa Abbassi — each beforehand served in senior capacities on the NYPD and are being checked out by Mamdani’s workforce as potential candidates for town’s prime cop job, two sources accustomed to the matter mentioned this week. A 3rd supply near Mamdani mentioned Tracie Keesee, one other NYPD veteran with in depth legislation enforcement expertise, is being eyed as a doable commissioner candidate, too, although a marketing campaign insider mentioned she hasn’t spoken immediately with anybody from his workforce.
Zohran Mamdani is pictured at a press convention Friday, Oct. 10, 2025 in Manhattan, New York, New York. (Barry Williams / New York Day by day Information)
The choice course of continues to be in its infancy, and the sources burdened nothing has been finalized. Additionally they mentioned Mamdani stays open to contemplating further candidates, together with retaining on the present commissioner, Jessica Tisch.
The police commissioner decide might be one in every of his most consequential appointments as mayor, as some in legislation enforcement circles have been unnerved by Mamdani’s previous calls to defund the NYPD and declare that the division itself is “racist.” As a mayoral candidate, the democratic socialist has mentioned he plans to apologize for his beforehand harsh criticism of the division and that he would as mayor search to maintain NYPD funding flat, not lower it.
In public, Mamdani has mentioned he’s contemplating retaining Tisch, Mayor Adams’ NYPD commissioner, on the helm of the nation’s largest police drive, praising her this week for her “decisive action to uproot corruption at the upper echelons at the NYPD and her presiding over lower levels of crime across this city.”
“And as soon as I have any personnel commitments I’ll be sure to let you know,” he mentioned Tuesday.
PR skilled Ken Frydman, citing sources, mentioned on the POTUS SiriusXM political speak present earlier this week that he didn’t anticipate Mamdani to maintain Tisch on, although.
Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch attend a press convention at police headquarters in Manhattan, New York Metropolis on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (Gardiner Anderson / New York Day by day Information)
And as he’s polling as the favourite to win the Nov. 4 mayoral election, Mamdani’s workforce has began different candidates for the job of overseeing the nation’s largest police drive, with Harrison and Abbassi rising as early favorites, the sources mentioned.
A Mamdani spokeswoman declined to remark.
Harrison, a former NYPD chief of division, most lately labored as Suffolk County Police commissioner, a job during which he was credited with main the investigation that resulted in final yr’s arrest of accused Lengthy Island serial killer Rex Heuermann.
In an interview final week, Harrison confirmed he spoke with Mamdani lately and has reviewed his public security plans, together with his proposal to create a metropolis Division of Neighborhood Security that may be tasked with responding to psychological well being calls that cops at present deal with. Harrison has additionally publicly supplied reward for Mamdani’s Division of Neighborhood Security plan.
However Harrison burdened he has not been informed something about an NYPD commissioner appointment.
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison.
Abbassi, at present New Jersey’s public security monitor overseeing troubled police departments within the state, additionally declined to remark when requested about being thought of by Mamdani for a police commissioner nod. “I have no comment related to anything that’s going on in New York,” he mentioned.
Keesee didn’t return requests for remark.
Harrison, Abbassi and Kessee all share related backgrounds in that they’ve lengthy information of participating in each conventional police work and extra reform-minded initiatives.
Because the NYPD’s chief of patrol, Harrison, a 26-year veteran of the division, oversaw the 2018 implementation of the de Blasio administration’s Neighborhood Policing Program, which centered on rising interplay between officers and the communities they serve.
Abbassi, additionally a 26-year division veteran, served in a wide range of NYPD positions earlier than retiring in 2023 with the rank of chief of strategic initiatives. After his retirement, Abbassi was hand-picked by the New Jersey state lawyer common’s workplace to function the unbiased officer-in-charge of the Patterson Police Division, which has for years reeled from corruption and misconduct accusations.
Invoice de Blasio and Isa Abbassi in 2020. (Photograph by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP through Getty Pictures)
The New Jersey AG promoted him in 2024 to change into the statewide public security monitor, accountable for overseeing a number of troubled police departments and promulgate greatest practices.
Keesee was once the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for coaching after which deputy commissioner for fairness and inclusion between 2016 and 2019. She was a captain on the Denver Police Division for 25 years previous to that and has additionally labored on a number of public security think-tanks centered on police reform.
She’s at present a public security professor on the College of Virginia.
Initially Revealed: October 15, 2025 at 4:04 PM EDT
