Suffolk County’s former top cop and the NYPD’s once-highest-ranking uniformed officer publicly backed Big Apple mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani’s controversial views on policing – but still wouldn’t endorse the socialist candidate.
Former Suffolk police Commissioner Rodney Harrison — who met with Mamdani this month — said he backed the Democratic Party nominee’s law enforcement reforms that include sending mental health and outreach workers to respond to supposedly “non-violent” calls instead of police.
“I’m not qualified to formally endorse any mayoral candidate — however, with over 30 years of experience in law enforcement, I do believe I’m well within reason to share my opinion on what it takes to keep New York City safe,” Harrison said in a statement.
“One part of the plan I support is the idea of having mental health clinicians respond to 911 calls involving non-violent mental health situations,” he said.
“By allowing trained professionals to handle these specific calls, patrol officers will be better able to focus on violent crimes, weapons-related incidents, and robberies.”
Harrison pointed to major cities like Denver, Eugene and Houston have implemented similar strategies and have seen tangible public safety improvements in their programs.
Mamdani had been a vocal supporter of the extreme “defund the police” movement but has recently backed off the take as he tries to build a broader support base after winning a June Democratic Party primary.
Critics of Mamdani’s plans took to Facebook to blast Harrison for the perceived soft-on-crime take.
Harrison is viewed as a potential pick for NYPD commissioner if Mamdani were to win in the November general election.
“Guess he was promised a job,” Suffolk resident Nick Graves posted on social media, while others flocked to call him an “opportunist” who simply wants to be tapped to lead the NYPD.
But Suffolk’s former top cop, who now works in private security, shot down those rumors and said he has “no interest” in the NYPD commissioner job.
Harrison, who was the first black person to serve as both the NYPD’s chief of detectives and Suffolk’s police commissioner, ushered in police reforms of his own while leading Long Island police.
During his two-year tenure in Suffolk County, he implemented a sweeping 1,000-page reform plan and oversaw the rollout of body cameras, launched a transparency hub, and expanded community outreach.
His record also includes creating the task force that helped lead to the arrest of accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann.
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