We speak with Alex Vitale, the author of The End of Policing, about one of the greatest challenges Zohran Mamdani will face if he goes on to win the November general election: How to deal with the NYPD. Among the hot-button topics Mamdani will have to deal with is whether to keep billionaire heiress Jessica Tisch as his police commissioner, the future of the Cop City training complex being built in Queens and how to dismantle the Strategic Response Group, the special 800-strong battalion of cops notorious for abusing the constitutional rights of protesters. We get Alex's thoughts on Mamdani's proposed new Department of Community Safety that would transfer responsibility for homeless and mentally distressed individuals from the NYPD to trained social workers and mental health professionals.
