NYPD Critic Suddenly Runs Enforcement

New York City’s far-left mayor just handed the city’s top law enforcement post to a man who has publicly compared the New York City Police Department to slave patrols and spent years suing the department from within.

Story Snapshot

Mayor Zohran Mamdani fired Sheriff Anthony Miranda and replaced him with retired New York City Police Department Lieutenant Edwin Raymond, a vocal NYPD critic and self-described whistleblower.
Raymond filed a federal lawsuit in 2015 alleging the NYPD enforced arrest quotas that disproportionately targeted Black and Latino men — a case that was dismissed in federal court, with an appeal pending.
Raymond has a documented history of publicly attacking the NYPD, including writing a New York Times Magazine piece titled “A Black Police Officer’s Fight Against the N.Y.P.D.”
Mamdani offered no stated operational rationale for firing Miranda or selecting Raymond, raising questions about whether the appointment is driven by ideology rather than law enforcement competence.

Mamdani Ousts One Controversial Sheriff, Installs Another

Mayor Zohran Mamdani fired New York City Sheriff Anthony Miranda and appointed retired New York City Police Department Lieutenant Edwin Raymond as his replacement. Miranda’s tenure was marked by workplace abuse allegations, federal and municipal corruption probes, and a public demand from his own union that he resign. Mamdani’s office confirmed the change but offered no specific reason for Miranda’s termination, leaving New Yorkers without a clear explanation for the abrupt leadership swap at one of the city’s key law enforcement offices.

Raymond is widely known as an anti-NYPD activist who spent years challenging the department he served. He authored a New York Times Magazine article titled “A Black Police Officer’s Fight Against the N.Y.P.D.” and has publicly drawn connections between modern policing and slave patrols. Appointing someone with that track record to lead the sheriff’s office — a position responsible for court enforcement, civil process, and legal compliance across the five boroughs — signals that Mamdani views the role as a vehicle for ideological reform rather than professional law enforcement.

The 2015 Quota Lawsuit and Its Legal Outcome

In August 2015, Raymond joined eleven other officers in filing a federal lawsuit alleging the New York City Police Department enforced numerical arrest and summons quotas that violated New York State law and the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause by disproportionately targeting Black and Latino men. The New York City Police Department denied the allegations. A federal court dismissed the case, though an appeal remained pending. The dismissal means no court has ruled on the merits of Raymond’s systemic-racism allegations — they remain unproven accusations, not established legal findings.

Critics arguing that Raymond’s appointment represents a reform mandate should note that a dismissed federal lawsuit is not a vindication of the underlying claims. Courts dismiss cases for a variety of procedural and substantive reasons, and the absence of a merits ruling cuts both ways. What the record does show clearly is that Raymond built a public identity around opposing NYPD leadership and practices — and that identity, not a proven track record of law enforcement management, appears to be the primary qualification Mamdani valued in making this pick.

An Ideological Appointment With Real Consequences

New York City’s sheriff’s office is not a symbolic post. It enforces court judgments, executes warrants, conducts tax and licensing enforcement, and works alongside other agencies on criminal investigations. Placing someone whose career has been defined by public antagonism toward law enforcement into that role raises legitimate questions about how the office will function. Will Raymond pursue enforcement evenhandedly, or will his well-documented worldview shape which laws get enforced and against whom?

Mamdani’s refusal to explain his reasoning for both the firing and the appointment compounds the concern. New Yorkers deserve transparency when their mayor reshuffles a law enforcement leadership position. Instead, they got a personnel announcement with no operational justification attached. For a city still grappling with public safety challenges, installing an avowed NYPD critic with a history of anti-police activism into a senior enforcement role — without explanation — is exactly the kind of governance that erodes public trust in institutions and emboldens those who believe the rule of law is negotiable.