Tisch acknowledges NYPD failed to alert oversight board before officer retired

NYPD establishes system to give review board time on disciplinary cases

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Monday that the department made a mistake by failing to notify the Civilian Complaint Review Board that Officer Salvatore Alongi had been referred for a disability retirement assessment, allowing him to leave the force on a medical disability pension in May and end disciplinary proceedings against him over the March 2024 fatal shooting of 19-year-old Win Rozario in Queens. The NYPD has since established a system to alert oversight officials when officers under internal investigation apply for retirement, Tisch said.

The announcement stems from the March 2024 fatal shooting of Rozario, who had called police to his Queens home during a psychotic episode. Body-worn camera footage showed Rozario was tasered twice and shot five times inside his home after he grabbed a pair of scissors and repeatedly advanced toward the officers. He was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly afterward.

The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation declined to pursue criminal charges against Officers Salvatore Alongi and Matthew Cianfrocco, concluding their use of deadly force met the legal standard for self-defense. Both officers continued to face internal disciplinary charges through the CCRB, the city agency responsible for pursuing police misconduct allegations. Its findings can result in disciplinary action, including a recommendation to the police commissioner to fire an officer.

Alongi was allowed to retire on a medical disability pension in May, effectively ending the CCRB proceedings against him. Cianfrocco will still face a disciplinary trial, the review board said.

Tisch said the department made a mistake by failing to notify the review board that Alongi had been referred for a disability retirement assessment. The retirement-alert system the NYPD has since established is designed to give oversight officials time to complete disciplinary proceedings before an officer leaves the force.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday ordered the NYPD’s first comprehensive review of use-of-force policies in a decade. He also said he would require the NYPD to report officers who retire with pending disciplinary charges to the state for decertification, which would prevent them from being hired by other police departments in New York state.

“Every New Yorker deserves to know that force will be used lawfully, carefully and only when necessary,” Mamdani said.

The mayor framed the review around the obligations police carry when New Yorkers call for help in crisis. “We have an obligation to Win’s family and to every New Yorker who calls for help in a moment of crisis,” Mamdani said. “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.”

Patrick Hendry, head of the Police Benevolent Association representing NYPD officers, said the mayor’s call to review the department’s use-of-force policies was meant to appease his “radical base.”