Imagine a city leader’s team member branding proud families as supporters of “killers” for cheering their loved ones joining the NYPD. That’s the firestorm ignited by a 2020 video of Kazi Fouzia, a radical activist now on Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s transition team, which has resurfaced to stir tensions in New York’s Bangladeshi community, as the New York Post reports.
This controversy centers on Fouzia’s harsh words from a discussion on Black liberation, targeting South Asian families for celebrating NYPD careers, while Mamdani’s own past anti-police rhetoric and a recent tragedy involving a slain Bangladeshi officer add fuel to the debate.
Back in 2020, during the height of Black Lives Matter protests, Kazi Fouzia, a self-described revolutionary organizer, spoke at a panel titled “What’s App: Our Role in Black Liberation Movements.” She didn’t hold back, slamming Bangladeshi and South Asian families for taking pride in relatives donning the NYPD badge.
“What are you proud for? That your relative would become a killer one day, or brutally beat our people?” Fouzia declared, as captured in the resurfaced footage.
Her words cut deep, painting a noble career path as a shameful betrayal, for a community with roughly 3,000 Bangladeshi-Americans serving in law enforcement roles, including as NYPD officers and traffic agents.
Fouzia, currently the director of organizing at Desis Rising Up and Moving, a South Asian immigrant-rights group, now serves on Mamdani’s transition team for worker justice. Her past comments, though, seem less about justice and more about dictating what aspirations are acceptable—a troubling stance for someone in her position.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani isn’t a stranger to police criticism either. On June 28, 2020, after the tragic killing of George Floyd, he called the NYPD “racist, anti-queer and a major threat to public safety,” while pushing the hashtag #DefundthePolice on social media.
“What we need is to #DefundthePolice,” Mamdani tweeted, a stance that raised eyebrows then and still echoes now. While he later apologized during his mayoral campaign, the timing of Fouzia’s video resurfacing casts a shadow over his team’s perspective on law enforcement.
The video was brought back into the spotlight by Stu Smith, an investigative analyst with the Manhattan Institute, a conservative-leaning think tank. Smith’s critique questions how Fouzia’s views align with her role on a team supposedly focused on workers’ rights.
This controversy hits harder given the Bangladeshi community’s recent grief over the July 2025 murder of NYPD Officer Didarul Islam, gunned down by a deranged individual in a Midtown skyscraper. Mamdani visited the officer’s family.
Community voices push back against Fouzia’s narrative. Mohammad Ali, representing many in the Bangladeshi-American law enforcement circle, stated, “We are proud. We always support the police.”
Ali’s heartfelt words, “I love the NYPD,” stand in stark contrast to the disdain Fouzia expressed. It’s a reminder that for many, the badge symbolizes protection, not oppression—a perspective worth respecting even in heated debates.
Mamdani’s transition team faced another hiccup when Catherine Almonte Da Costa resigned as appointments director mere hours after her role was announced, due to old social media posts with derogatory remarks about defunding the police and other inflammatory comments. Neither Mamdani’s team nor Fouzia has commented on the resurfaced video, leaving questions unanswered.
At its core, this story isn’t just about old footage—it’s about trust between communities and their leaders.
When a transition team member’s past words clash so sharply with the values of hardworking families, it risks alienating those who see law enforcement as a path to serve, not harm. Let’s hope Mamdani’s administration can bridge this divide with actions, not just apologies.
