Mamdani's past 'visceral disdain' for police 'scares a lot of New Yorkers' for good reason: NYC crime expert

New York City socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's past stances on policing are a legitimate reason for New Yorkers to be concerned, despite his recent walkbacks, according to a New York City crime expert who spoke to Fox News Digital. 

"I think what scares a lot of New Yorkers about the policy positions taken by Zohran Mamdani over the years is that he has exhibited not just a lack of appreciation for the men and women that stand on that [police] line, but a visceral disdain for them, which has led him to push for things like defunding and dismantling the police," Rafael A. Mangual, senior fellow and head of research for policing and public safety at the Manhattan Institute, told Fox News Digital, shortly after a gunman killed four people in midtown Manhattan, including a NYPD police officer. 

"It's not so much as just that he said, well, I wanna allocate some of this...