Tisch apologizes as officer in Win Rozario death retires without facing trial
The NYPD never told the CCRB the officer had filed for a disability pension, and the police commissioner blamed human error.
An NYPD officer facing department charges over the 2024 death of 19-year-old Win Rozario in Queens will not go to a disciplinary trial, because the department never told the Civilian Complaint Review Board that he had filed to retire. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch apologized Thursday and blamed human error.
The CCRB found that Officer Salvatore Alongi and Officer Matthew Cianfrocco abused their authority and used excessive force in March 2024 inside the Rozario family’s Ozone Park home, where the teenager was having a mental health crisis. The board recommended discipline, and Tisch notified both officers in September 2025 that they would face charges.
How the NYPD missed the CCRB notification
The department must tell the CCRB when an officer with pending charges starts the retirement process. That alert lets the police pension fund put the application on hold while the board tries to move the trial up. According to an NYPD timeline, Alongi applied for a disability pension in August 2025, about three weeks before the CCRB ruled, and the board was never alerted once charges followed. By the time the CCRB found out about the retirement, in August, Alongi had already been off the force for nine weeks.
The NYPD blamed a civilian employee it did not name, who it said has been demoted and removed from disciplinary work. “As a result of human error, we failed to do so, and I apologize for that mistake,” Tisch said in a statement.
Rozario family calls for an investigation
About an hour before the apology, the family gathered outside City Hall and directed their anger at Tisch and Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Rozario’s mother, Notan Eva Costa, said the mayor had come to their home promising to be a different kind of leader and that the family now felt betrayed. “This is not justice. This is a betrayal,” she said.
Costa asked the Department of Investigation to look into what happened. Her husband, Francis Rozario, said he believes the failure was a deliberate coverup rather than negligence. Mamdani’s office did not answer when asked to comment.
Quick answers
Why did the officer avoid a disciplinary trial?
The NYPD failed to tell the CCRB he had filed for a disability pension, so the board could not seek a faster trial.
What happened to the employee blamed for the error?
The NYPD said the civilian employee was demoted and no longer handles disciplinary cases.
