New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is under fire for his response to a viral video showing police officers beating a man during a mistaken-identity arrest in Brooklyn.
The incident, which took place on April 14, has sparked outrage among civil rights leaders and activists, with critics accusing the mayor of not acting decisively enough in the aftermath.
A viral eight-minute video shows plainclothes officers from the New York City Police Department punching and kicking a man inside a Brooklyn liquor store, later identified as Timothy Brown.
Police have since acknowledged that Brown was not the suspect they were looking for, and all charges against him were dropped.
The backlash centres on the mayor’s response in the days following the video’s release, with prominent Brooklyn clergy leader Kevin McCall criticising Mamdani for not taking stronger action.
Commissioner Jessica Tisch has moved to reassign multiple officers connected to the case, including at least eight personnel, including captains, detectives and a lieutenant, out of Brooklyn’s narcotics unit.
Mayor Mamdani initially called the video “extremely disturbing and unacceptable,” stating that the NYPD had launched a full investigation, and acknowledged public concern, saying, "We in city government need to look deeper than just this one case," adding that further steps would be shared after a broader review.
