NYPD Denies Agreement to Provide Security for Mayor’s Wife on Middle East Trip

The New York Police Department has refuted claims from Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office that officers would provide security for his wife during an upcoming family visit to Syria and Lebanon. An NYPD spokesperson stated the department does not deploy personnel to countries with Level 4 travel advisories issued by the State Department for personal reasons, according to Fox News.

Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, plans to travel in September to the two nations, which are both designated as “Do Not Travel” destinations due to terrorism threats. The mayor’s spokeswoman Dora Pekec had previously announced that an NYPD security detail would accompany Duwaji based on the department’s recommendation, the New York Post reported.

When confronted by PIX11 on Tuesday about the contradiction, Mamdani attributed the discrepancy to a staff miscommunication. The explanation came after it became apparent the NYPD would not be sending officers overseas for the trip.

Scott Munro, president of the NYPD Detectives’ Endowment Association, denounced the initial claim forcefully. Munro stated that detectives would never accept deployment to dangerous foreign countries outside legitimate law enforcement or intelligence operations, and emphasized that officers are needed in New York City to protect residents and combat crime.

Mamdani has a documented history of criticizing the police department he initially sought security from. In 2020 posts on social media, he called for defunding and dismantling the NYPD, describing it as racist and a threat to public safety.

The mayor has also drawn criticism for his positions on Israel, recently calling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal and comparing NYPD tactics to those of the Israeli Defense Forces during a 2023 Democratic Socialists of America convention speech. During his mayoral campaign, however, Mamdani stated he opposed defunding police.

Tensions between Mamdani and the NYPD surfaced again last week when he was booed offstage while attempting to speak at a pro-police event in Staten Island. Fox News Digital sought comment from the mayor’s office regarding the security detail dispute.