Widows, grieving moms of fallen NYPD officers slam Mamdani's police support switcheroo after Midtown massacre: ‘Too little, too late'
Mamdani tried to make a clean break from his 'defund the police' past on Wednesday as he privately visited with the family of NYPD Officer Didarul Islam, who was gunned down in the Midtown mass shooting by crazed gunman Shane Tamura.
'Now, when a police officer is killed he wants to say, 'Oh, I support the police,'' Tatyana Timoshenko, the mother of slain NYPD Det. Russel Timoshenko, told The Post.
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5 Slain NYPD officer Didarul Islam, who was killed on Monday in the midtown shooting spree on Monday at NFL and Blackstone building.
NYPD
Timoshenko — whose 23-year-old son was shot and killed in 2007 while pulling over a stolen BMW — couldn't shake Mamdani's anti-cop past as the Democratic socialist reaffirmed his newfound support for police following his visit with Islam's grieving relatives.
'It's a little too little, too late,' she said.
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'This is breaking my heart all over again,' she said. 'It's the worst nightmare for the family right now. Our hearts go out to them.'
Grace Machate, the widow of Robert Machate — a 25-year-old NYPD officer who was shot and killed in 1989 — simply said that Mamdani would be 'dangerous' for the city.
'Right now, he is saying everything that these young people want to hear,' she said.
5 Tatyana Timoshenko mother of of police officer Russell Timoshenko poses for a picture in New York City on July 24, 2025.
Leonardo Munoz
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5 Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani brings flowers to the family of slain NYPD Officer Didarul Islam, who was shot and killed during a midtown mass shooting incident.
Matthew McDermott
5 Slain officer Robert Machate on March 03, 1989.
New York Post archives
'He's making promises, but they are not reality,' she said.
Like Islam's widow, Machate was pregnant when her husband was tragically killed in the line of duty.
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The funeral for Islam, a 36-year-old dad of two with about four years on the force, will be held Thursday, and Mamdani is expected to attend, as is Mayor Eric Adams.
5 Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani holds a press conference at 32BJ SEIU.
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Mamdani, speaking to reporters on the day he returned from a trip to Uganda, said his notorious past tweets about police were 'out of step' with his vision for the city, if elected.
'I am not running to defund the police,' he insisted.
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