Mamdani Fires Sheriff Miranda, Replaces Him With Raymond
Mayor Zohran Mamdani fired New York City Sheriff Anthony Miranda on Thursday and replaced him with Edwin Raymond, the NYPD whistleblower who once sued over arrest quotas. The move puts Raymond in charge of the City of New York Sheriff’s Office after a tenure marked by disputes over cannabis enforcement, training and labor relations.
Mamdani said Raymond “represents the kind of public servant New Yorkers deserve: principled, courageous and deeply committed to justice.” He added that Raymond has fought to build a public safety system rooted in “effectiveness, accountability and public trust.”
Zohran Mamdani and Edwin Raymond
Mamdani said he was “proud to welcome him to our administration as Sheriff of the City of New York.” Raymond said, “I look forward to continuing that work as Sheriff by helping build a safer, fairer and more accountable city for all New Yorkers.”
Raymond spent over a decade as a cop before retiring early. In August 2015, he filed a lawsuit with 11 other police officers claiming the NYPD’s numerical quotas for arrests and court summonses broke state law and violated the 14th Amendment against racial discrimination. He later published An Inconvenient Cop: My Fight to Change Policing in America in 2023 and mounted an unsuccessful run for City Council in 2021.
Anthony Miranda and the Sheriff’s Office
Miranda’s tenure drew scrutiny over illegal cannabis enforcement during the Adams administration. In 2024, city investigators began probing reports that the Sheriff’s Office improperly seized evidence from unlicensed pot shops. During that probe, investigators found more than $100,000 in cash inside safes at the Sheriff’s Office in Queens.
The safes were found in large shipping containers at the Sheriff’s headquarters on Starr Ave. in Long Island City. A source within the sheriff’s office said the safes had been seized in a pot shop raid, and the money was found with a ledger that had pages torn out.
Deputy Sheriff Training
In July 2025, training for dozens of recruits hoping to be New York City deputy sheriffs was thrown into chaos after the Department of Investigation determined the academy’s instructors responsible for investigation and firearms training were not certified by the state. After being delayed for more than three weeks, the graduation for more than 80 sheriff cadets was finally allowed, the largest academy class in the agency’s history.
The union had also called on Miranda to resign, saying he created a hostile work environment that led to an exodus of rank-and-file members. Miranda declined to discuss the firing on Thursday, saying, “I don’t have anything to say at this point.”
