Top city officials took a field trip to Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday to learn more about how the Midwestern city works to deescalate protests as Mayor Mamdani reaffirmed he is “deeply committed” to disbanding the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group, an arm of the NYPD that responds to protests.
Mamdani has previously lauded Columbus’ protest policing methods, which includes a so-called special “Dialogue Unit,” as a model for ensuring nonviolent responses. The trip comes amid pressure from the left to fulfill his campaign pledge to dismantle the SRG — a move opposed by Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Among those who traveled to Ohio were Mamdani’s chief of staff, Elle Bisgaard-Church, his chief counsel Ramzi Kassem and Freddi Goldstein, chief of staff to First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan.
From left, First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan, Mayor Mamdani’s chief of staff, Elle Bisgaard-Church, and Mamdani’s chief counsel Ramzi Kassem. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
NYPD Deputy Commissioner Alex Crohn, Assistant Gerry Dowling, Assistant Chief Victoria Perry were also on the trip. They departed Tuesday night and stayed through Wednesday, a police spokesman said. Abdul Rad, senior adviser for public safety to Fuleihan, also went.
“Leadership from the Big Apple joined us to observe firsthand how the Columbus Division of Police approaches public safety during First Amendment activities. A major focus of the visit was our Dialogue Team – a specialized unit dedicated to maintaining open lines of communication between law enforcement and protest participants,” the Columbus PD wrote on social media on Thursday.
“Thank you to our visitors for the great conversation and for the shared commitment to keeping our cities safe.”
NYPD Strategic Response Group officers clear counter-demonstrators from an area near Gracie Mansion during a protest Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
Mamdani on the campaign trail nodded to the Midwestern city as an inspiration for nonviolent protest response.
“We should learn from the models of cities around the country, around the world,” Mamdani said during a public safety discussion hosted by the policy journal Vital City in September. “One that’s been of interest to me is in Columbus — and the way in which they’ve approached some of these questions of how to have a police presence at these larger demonstrations.”
Columbus’ model sends the special “Dialogue Unit” to talk to protest leaders as part of an effort to decrease arrests or violence. The unit reportedly has about 50 cops assigned, who volunteer for the role.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani with Dean Fuleihan (center) and Elle Bisguaard-Church. (Barry Williams / New York Daily News)
In addition to reaffirming Wednesday that he is “deeply committed” to disbanding the SRG, Mamdani said NYC should decouple “our response to protest and counterterrorism.”
“This is a trip of members from both City Hall and NYPD to better study the Columbus model of responding to protests,” he said at an unrelated press conference.
Dowling, who oversees the SRG in his role as assistant chief of special operations, was previously accused of pulling a female protester’s hair and shoving her to the ground in downtown Manhattan in 2020. after removing the case from the jurisdiction of
The Civilian Complaint Review Board substantiated the complaint in 2023, but former Police Commissioner Edward Caban took the case away from the CCRB, declining to discipline Dowling, noting he had no other formal department discipline.
With Rocco Parascandola and Cayla Bamberger