New York City Councilmember Chi Ossé filed a misconduct complaint Monday against the NYPD officer who arrested him last month during a protest in Brooklyn, a move that sharpens the fault line between the city's progressive political class and the rank-and-file officers tasked with enforcing the law.
The complaint, filed with the Civilian Complaint Review Board, names Officer Ahmed Zaitoun and alleges excessive force during Ossé's April 22 arrest in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Ossé, a self-described democratic socialist and ally of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, told Politico he believes the officer violated his civil rights.
The CCRB confirmed it received the claim and is reviewing it. A spokesperson for the NYPD declined to comment.
Ossé was arrested while protesting the planned eviction of a woman in Bedford-Stuyvesant who claims she is the victim of deed theft. City marshals arrived at the property to execute the eviction. Ossé and other protesters blocked access.
The NYPD has said Ossé and three other protesters were arrested only after they refused repeated verbal commands to stop blocking the property. Officers charged Ossé with disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration, then released him with a desk appearance ticket.
Video of the arrest circulated on social media. Ossé claims he was slammed to the ground and suffered a concussion. Whether those injuries have been independently or medically documented remains unclear from available reporting.
Here is what is clear: the state attorney general's office, led by Letitia James, determined that deed theft was not at play at the property where Ossé was arrested. That finding complicates the entire premise of the protest Ossé joined.
Ossé framed his complaint in the language of civic duty:
"My rights were violated, but more importantly, my responsibility to my community and constituents demands a fact-finding."
The Police Benevolent Association wasted no time pushing back. PBA President Patrick Hendry said he was "not surprised" by the filing and defended the officer's conduct:
"This officer was clearly acting within the law and NYPD guidelines when effecting the arrest, but none of that matters to CCRB. Their goal is to drive police officers away from this job."
Hendry's frustration reflects a broader institutional clash. The PBA is engaged in legal battles against the CCRB over allegations of anti-police bias, a fight that long predates this incident but now has a fresh face attached to it.
Officer Zaitoun, the subject of the complaint, has been with the NYPD since October 2022. Personnel records show he has faced two prior excessive-force accusations, both dating to 2024. The CCRB determined both of those earlier claims were "unfounded."
That track record matters. Twice accused, twice cleared, and now accused a third time by a politician who was blocking a lawful eviction when the arrest took place. Readers can draw their own conclusions about the pattern.
Mayor Mamdani, a longtime critic of the NYPD, called the video of Ossé's arrest "incredibly concerning" last month. But a spokesperson offered a more measured statement this week, saying "the mayor respects the independence of the CCRB and will allow the disciplinary process to play out based on the evidence, established procedures, and the NYPD's disciplinary matrix."
That careful phrasing suggests Mamdani recognizes the political risk. Condemning the arresting officer outright would draw the ire of NYPD leadership, including Commissioner Jessica Tisch. But siding with the police would alienate the democratic-socialist wing of the city's political coalition, the very faction that includes Ossé and, not long ago, Mamdani himself.
This is hardly the first time Mamdani has found himself caught between progressive allies and the realities of governing. His administration has already clashed with NYPD leadership on other fronts, and the tension shows no sign of easing.
City Council Speaker Julie Menin, described as a more moderate Democrat than either Ossé or Mamdani, appeared at a protest outside Brooklyn's 79th Precinct, where officers had taken Ossé after the arrest. Menin told reporters she was troubled by what she saw on video:
"When I saw the video, it's obviously of deep, deep concern. He was thrown to the ground, and as you heard from him directly, he sustained some injuries. That is not acceptable. He was peacefully protesting."
"Peacefully protesting" is one way to describe what happened. Another is that a sitting elected official physically blocked city marshals from carrying out a lawful eviction order, refused police commands to move, and was arrested for obstruction. Whether that constitutes peaceful protest or willful interference with government operations is precisely the question the charges against Ossé are meant to resolve.
Ossé and his allies rallied around the eviction target's claim that she was a victim of deed theft, a serious crime in which a property owner's deed is fraudulently transferred. It is a real problem in parts of New York City, and it generates genuine sympathy.
But Letitia James' office said it determined deed theft was not at play at this property. That finding did not stop the protest, and it has not stopped Ossé from filing his complaint. The underlying cause that brought him to the scene appears to have been investigated and found wanting by the state's own attorney general, a Democrat, not a Republican.
The broader pattern in New York City's progressive politics is familiar. An elected official shows up at a flashpoint, claims moral authority, resists lawful enforcement, gets arrested, and then files a complaint against the officers involved. The recent string of arrest controversies in the city has made this cycle almost routine.
Meanwhile, the officers who carried out a lawful order face a misconduct investigation. The CCRB, an agency the police union accuses of institutional bias, will decide whether the force used was justified. And the councilmember who obstructed a legal eviction walks free on a desk appearance ticket, positioning himself as the victim.
Several questions remain open. What is the current status of the disorderly conduct and obstruction charges against Ossé? Were his claimed injuries, specifically the concussion, documented by a medical professional? And if the attorney general's office found no deed theft at the property, what exactly was the legal basis for the protest Ossé joined?
None of those questions have public answers yet. But they matter, because the misconduct complaint does not exist in a vacuum. It exists alongside criminal charges against Ossé himself, a finding by the AG's office that undercuts the protest's rationale, and the NYPD's own account that officers gave verbal warnings before making any arrests.
The Mamdani administration's handling of the situation, punting to process while the mayor's own prior comments leaned toward the councilmember's side, is a case study in political hedging. Mamdani has enough on his plate already, having retreated from signature campaign promises as governing realities close in.
For the PBA and rank-and-file officers, the message is plain. Enforce the law, follow procedure, give verbal warnings, arrest someone who refuses to comply, and still face a misconduct investigation launched by the person you arrested.
In a city where politicians increasingly treat arrest as a credential rather than a consequence, the officers on the ground are the ones left holding the bag. That is not accountability. That is a system rigged to punish the people doing their jobs.
