NYPD let officer in Win Rozario killing retire before discipline trial; Tisch apologizes

One of the two NYPD officers charged with misconduct in the 2024 killing of Win Rozario will not face a disciplinary trial, because the department failed to tell the city's police watchdog that he had filed to retire, according to THE CITY.

Officer Salvatore Alongi left the force in May with an accidental disability pension, often called a "three-quarters" pension because it pays 75% of an officer's final salary, the Queens Daily Eagle reported. The Civilian Complaint Review Board had substantiated excessive-force and abuse-of-authority allegations against Alongi and his partner, Officer Matthew Cianfrocco, in September 2025.

Update: the NYPD was also months late telling the state

The NYPD also failed for months to notify the state that Alongi had retired, THE CITY reported Thursday. State law requires departments to tell the Division of Criminal Justice Services when an officer facing disciplinary charges retires; the state then lists the officer as "removed for cause," which bars them from working for another law enforcement agency in New York. Without that notice, THE CITY reported, Alongi could have moved to another department after leaving the NYPD.

Alongi retired May 15, but the NYPD did not notify DCJS until Oct. 8, the day after the Rozario family announced it would reveal information about one of the officers, according to THE CITY. A DCJS spokesperson, Janine Kava, told the outlet the NYPD usually files its list of names for decertification quarterly, which would have meant by July 1, and that the department submitted no names then. NYPD spokesperson Bradley Weeks said the department is only required to report former officers' names once a year, in January, but shares them with DCJS quarterly. He did not comment on the timing. Tisch's Oct. 8 statement apologizing for the CCRB lapse did not mention the state notification.

"Win Rozario's family should not have to take off work and organize a press conference just to get the NYPD to follow state law," said Loyda Colon, executive director of the Justice Committee. Cianfrocco, the officer who fired the fatal shots, remains on the force and still faces a CCRB-prosecuted administrative trial; as of Wednesday no date had been set, THE CITY reported.

What went wrong

Under its agreement with the CCRB, the NYPD must notify the board when an officer facing disciplinary charges starts the retirement process, so the board can try to speed up the case before a pension is approved. That did not happen. According to the NYPD's own chronology, cited by THE CITY, Alongi filed for his pension in August 2025, about three weeks before the CCRB ruled. The board learned he had retired only this August, roughly nine weeks after his last day.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch acknowledged the lapse on Thursday. "As a result of human error, we failed to do so, and I apologize for that mistake," she said in a statement. The department said a civilian employee responsible for the notice was demoted and reassigned, and that the Department Advocate's office will now personally alert the CCRB to any retirement filing by an officer with a pending case.

The family's response

Rozario's family held a press conference outside City Hall about an hour before Tisch's statement. His mother, Notan Eva Costa, directed her anger at Mayor Zohran Mamdani, saying the family felt "betrayed," and asked the Department of Investigation to look into what happened, THE CITY reported. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Council Member Alexa Avilés also criticized the handling of the case, according to the Eagle.

City Hall did not respond to requests for comment from either outlet.

Background

Rozario, 19, was shot and killed by police in his family's Ozone Park, Queens, home on March 27, 2024, after a 911 call during a mental health crisis. Body camera footage shows him holding a pair of scissors. The state attorney general's office decided in December 2025 that the officers would not face criminal charges, CBS New York reported.

A CCRB spokesperson said Cianfrocco's disciplinary trial "will continue as planned."