Despite the ongoing misconduct charges he faced for the 2024 fatal shooting of Win Rozario, a 19-year-old Queens man experiencing a mental health crisis, NYPD officer Salvatore Alongi retired in May with a pension. Last week, Rozario’s parents revealed the development to the public while calling on Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to disclose how it happened. Now, Mayor Zohran Mamdani is ramping up ways to stop officers from evading discipline through retirement. He also issued a “comprehensive” review of NYPD use-of-force practices — the first in more than a decade — and will put $2.6 million towards a key police watchdog.
“When the government uses force against a New Yorker, the standard for accountability must be at its highest. Every New Yorker deserves to know that force will be used lawfully, carefully, and only when necessary,” said Mamdani. “We have an obligation to Win’s family and to every New Yorker who calls for help in a moment of crisis. This review is about making sure our policies reflect that responsibility, that our officers have the guidance and training they need, and that New Yorkers and their families can trust their city will treat them with care and dignity.”
Alongi allegedly defied mandates to report his retirement to the Civilian Complaint Review Board, which investigates and prosecutes NYPD misconduct for the city. He and another officer were charged on multiple counts over killing Rozario late last year.
Mamdani’s administration implemented a new notification system to wrap up a disciplinary process before the accused officer can retire and made it an official policy to notify the state about pending disciplinary charges to prevent officers like Alongi from finding a job elsewhere in New York. The NYPD will also formalize the process for sharing information after a serious incident like the Rozario shooting, which includes family access to the NYPD Force Investigation Division final reports.
A $2.6 million funding increase for the Office of the Inspector General-NYPD (OIG-NYPD) comes right on time for a watchdog agency facing attrition and budget cuts. Only three people, including the then-Inspector General herself, were working for the office in August 2025 — down from 37 people in 2017. Under the previous administration, funding consistently declined since ex-Mayor Eric Adams entered office in 2022.
Unlike the CCRB, the OIG-NYPD examines broader police practices and policies. It boasts subpoena powers to shed more light on questionable specialized units and otherwise-opaque tools like the “gang database,” which Mamdani vowed to abolish during his campaign.
NYC Department of Investigation (DOI) Commissioner Nadia Shihata, whose department oversees the inspector general, lauded the budget boost. “These funds will allow DOI to fully staff and reestablish robust oversight of policing in New York City — one of my top priorities as DOI commissioner,” Shihata said in a statement. “I am very pleased that DOI can move forward [with] this objective: one that supports effective policy, protects our civil rights and freedoms, and builds strong police-community relations.”
The Justice Committee, one of the two main organizations advocating on behalf of Rozario’s family, said the reforms are appreciated but fall short of full accountability.
“The problem is not that the NYPD needs more training or to revise its policies, but that the department consistently evades oversight, transparency, and meaningful change; violates the law and its own rules to do so; and shields officers who harm and kill New Yorkers from facing discipline,” said Justice Committee Executive Director Loyda Colón. “Alongi’s retirement with an enhanced pension and the NYPD’s failure to notify the CCRB and report him for decertification is a glaring example of this. Previously, administrations tried to require the NYPD to review and adjust its own policies, and it has never worked.”
The organization, which represents families of people killed by police, suggested several additional measures, such as appointing an inspector general with a background in working with police reform groups and ensuring the CCRB is notified as soon as an officer applies for retirement.
