No cops for this trip: NYPD shuts down escort for Mamdani’s wife

by DBS Wire

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani now says his wife will travel to Syria and Lebanon without an NYPD security detail, following an extraordinary public contradiction between City Hall and the police department over who approved what.

The final answer from the mayor came Tuesday afternoon:

“There was a miscommunication. She has not yet taken that trip, and when she takes that trip it will be without any NYPD detail.”

“Miscommunication” is one way to describe it.

Another would be, City Hall announced that the NYPD had strongly recommended something the NYPD says it never agreed to do.

The controversy began after City Hall confirmed that Rama Duwaji, Mamdani’s wife and New York City’s first lady, planned to visit family in Syria and Lebanon beginning September 20.

The trip is not official city business, according to a source familiar with the plans. Both destinations also carry the State Department’s highest travel warning: Level 4—Do Not Travel.

Nevertheless, Mamdani spokeswoman Dora Pekec initially told the New York Post that Duwaji would be accompanied by city police officers.

“Upon the strong recommendation of the NYPD, the first lady’s security detail will be joining her when she travels to visit family in Syria and Lebanon.”

That statement sounded fairly definitive. The NYPD “strongly” recommended the detail, and the detail “will be joining her.”

Then the police department responded.

The NYPD did not offer a carefully massaged clarification about fluid security protocols or evolving risk assessments. It flatly contradicted City Hall.

“The NYPD does not send officers to countries with Level 4 travel advisories for discretionary reasons not linked to investigative work.”

The department continued:

“This is not an investigative trip, and therefore, NYPD personnel will not be traveling there for it.”

Translation: Nobody checked with the cops before announcing what the cops were supposedly doing. One source familiar with the dispute put it even more bluntly:

“They never checked with the commissioner.”

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch’s department therefore had to tell the public—and, apparently, the mayor’s communications staff—that the proposed assignment was never happening.

Former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton called the idea of sending city officers on the personal trip “ill-advised.”

Such a mission would be expensive, dangerous and likely require substantial coordination with the federal government.

“There would be lots of hoops you’d have to go through for that kind of assignment,” Bratton said.

David Catalfamo, a former communications director for Republican New York Gov. George Pataki, said City Hall should have deferred to law-enforcement officials before making any announcement involving security.

“The political folks want to run ahead of the story. It doesn’t work that way when it comes to security.”

Catalfamo added:

“Going to Syria and Lebanon is not like buying a ticket on Amtrak.”

The State Department describes Level 4 as its highest warning category, reserved for destinations posing “life-threatening risks.” It cautions that the U.S. government may have “very limited or no ability to help” Americans caught in an emergency.

Duwaji, an American-born artist of Syrian heritage, is reportedly traveling to visit family. City Hall has not provided additional details about the itinerary. She traveled internationally in July without police protection, attending events in Corsica and Mallorca. A source familiar with Duwaji’s security arrangements told the Post that she requested an NYPD escort for the September trip after traveling overseas without one the previous month. Neither Duwaji nor City Hall has publicly confirmed that account.

It would be one thing if a professional NYPD threat assessment concluded that officers should accompany the mayor’s wife. It would be quite another if City Hall attempted to transform a personal request into an NYPD “strong recommendation” without first obtaining the department’s approval. The initial statement presented the decision as one made by police professionals. The NYPD’s response indicates no such recommendation existed.

Mamdani has repeatedly described his wife as a “private person” while seeking to shield her from political scrutiny. But “private person” and “taxpayer-funded international security operation” do not fit comfortably in the same sentence.

If Duwaji travels privately, she is entitled to make her own choices within the law. If public employees and city money are involved, taxpayers are entitled to ask about the purpose, cost and risk.

In this instance, the NYPD settled the taxpayer question before City Hall could make it any more complicated. Its officers are staying home.

The dispute highlighted the unusual relationship between Mamdani and Tisch. Tisch remained police commissioner after Mamdani took office despite significant ideological differences between the two, particularly concerning policing, Israel and public safety. She has publicly defended officers when the mayor or other officials appeared to minimize attacks against them. Yet the pair have also appeared together at events touting reductions in crime and have portrayed their working relationship as productive.

Mamdani’s “miscommunication” explanation also leaves a few questions unanswered.

Who told Pekec that the NYPD had “strongly” recommended the escort? Did Duwaji formally request protection? Did anyone in City Hall contact Tisch or the NYPD protective-intelligence unit before issuing the statement? And why did the police department have to correct the mayor’s office through the press?

City Hall offered no additional explanation Tuesday.

WIRE