Mayor Zohran Mamdani quickly served up solidarity to his Democratic Socialists of America comrade Chi Ossé — calling out the Brooklyn councilman’s “concerning” arrest where he was filmed blocking authorities during an anti-eviction protest.
Mamdani’s show of support for Ossé – a firebrand lefty who shares Hizzoner’s social media savvy – was echoed by a slew of other city pols, including Council Speaker Julie Menin, even before cops released the councilman from custody.
“I have seen the concerning footage of Council Member Chi Ossé’s arrest earlier today and am in touch with [NYPD] Commissioner Tisch about the nature of the arrest,” Mamdani wrote on social media.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York City Department of Sanitation Commissioner (DSNY) Gregory Anderson announce six new Community Districts across the city will have 100% trash containerization by the end of 2027 in Brooklyn NY on April 17, 2026. Andrew Schwartz / SplashNews.com
“It is a pleasure to work alongside Council Member Ossé, a leader in his community and a partner in building a safer and more affordable New York City. I am grateful he is out of custody.”
Ossé received a desk appearance ticket on obstruction and disorderly conduct charges, while three others were arrested on the same raps, police said.
He told reporters after his release that he felt “dizzy” after cops “manhandled” and “slammed” him to the pavement, Politico reported.
“I will absolutely be filing a misconduct report against the officers who slammed me on the ground,” he said, according to the report.
The brouhaha followed a nearly nearly two-hour standoff between roughly 30 protesters and NYPD cops helping with a legal eviction for one of Ossé’s constituents in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Social media lit up with dramatic video depicting the showdown descend into chaos outside the Jefferson Avenue brownstone. Video showed Ossé facing off against a pair of officers, who pull him down to the pavement and handcuff him on the sidewalk.
Chi Osse speaks at a Reuters Affordability Gap event in NYC, focused on Gen Z and millennials in New York City, U.S., March 26, 2026. REUTERS
“Who do you protect? Who do you serve?” protesters chanted as cops arrested Ossé.
The NYPD said later that Ossé was captured on body-worn camera pushing past officers who were trying to stop protesters from blocking a gate in front of the building.
Ossé and the other protesters were warned repeatedly that blocking the authorities — cops assisting city marshals carrying out an eviction — would result in their arrests.
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Police said Ossé then physically resisted, “appearing to flail his arms and hands to prevent officers from restraining him.”
Ossé’s personal X account shared one video, contending his arrest came as he protected his constituent Carmella Charrington from eviction.
“This is the result of deed theft and the ongoing displacement of Black homeowners in Bed-Stuy,” the post states.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani stands silently during a press conference on the Air Canada Express crash at Terminal B in LaGuardia Airport on March 23, 2026 in New York City. Getty Images
But the deed theft accusation was less straightforward than Ossé contended.
State Attorney General Letitia James’ office investigated Charrington’s claims of deed theft and concluded that, instead, it was a property dispute between heirs and relatives of the home’s former co-owners, officials said.
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Charrington had a March 31 court hearing in which a judge asked her to produce her father, a ward of the state of Georgia and reputedly the home’s owner, officials said.
She was given two weeks to bring her father to court, but failed to do so by the April 16 deadline – leading to her arrest on a civil contempt charge, according to officials.
Charrington spent five days in Rikers Island jail and was released Tuesday – one day before NYC sheriff’s officers and marshals tried to evict her on a judge’s order, officials said.
A spokesman for 227 Group LLC, which contends to own the home, said the deed theft accusation was “unequivocally false.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York City Department of Sanitation Commissioner (DSNY) Gregory Anderson announce six new Community Districts across the city will have 100% trash containerization by the end of 2027 in Brooklyn NY on April 17, 2026. Andrew Schwartz / SplashNews.com
“This property was purchased in January 2024 by 227 Group LLC in an arm’s length, all-cash transaction with title insurance, which means the property was purchased from two unrelated parties at a price they negotiated,” the spokesman said in a statement.
“Mr. Charrington owned the property with a partner, and the conveyance of his share was legally authorized by the Fulton County Probate Court in Georgia since he is the subject of a court-appointed conservatorship. The eviction of the current occupant, who has been living at the property illegally for over two years, has been deemed a lawful eviction by Kings County Housing Court and Supreme Court.”
The messy dispute nonetheless drew the advocacy of Ossé, who in turn received support from Mamdani, Menin and even James – who called herself “deeply disturbed” by his arrest.
Mamdani’s quick support of Ossé contrasted with his lengthy silence on the gang-related shooting that killed 15-year-old Queens boy Jaden Pierre last week.
Menin, meanwhile, rushed to the NYPD’s 79th Precinct.
“I’ve just seen the concerning videos of my colleague @CMChiOsse being aggressively pushed to the ground and arrested during a protest, where he was standing up for one of his constituents facing deed theft,” the council speaker posted on X.
— Additional reporting by Joe Marino