NYPD Bodycam Shows Standoff After Fatal Bank of America Exec Stabbing

Newly released NYPD body camera video captures officers urging Pamela Cisneros to put down two knives and “just breathe” before police fatally shot her in Times Square.

Released Friday, the footage shows officers spending roughly four minutes attempting to de-escalate the encounter with the 49-year-old woman outside One Times Square. Authorities said she had stabbed two people shortly before the standoff began.

Cisneros repeatedly ignored commands to surrender. During the confrontation, she said she was “tired of this world” and warned officers that they would have to kill her.

“There’s a lot to live for,” one officer told her.

“The world is hard. Especially New York City,” the officer continued. “Trust me, we all suffer. But this is not the way.”

As police tried to establish a connection with Cisneros, one officer asked if she believed in God.

“No. Not anymore,” Cisneros answered.

Officers continued telling Cisneros that they were there to help her.

“We’re trying to help you,” one officer said.

The tense exchange escalated when Cisneros told police they would be forced to shoot her.

“You’re going to have to kill me,” she said.

She later added, “Either that or I’m going to kill all of you.”

Police repeatedly ordered Cisneros to “drop the knife” and encouraged her to “just breathe,” but she continued refusing to surrender.

At about 4:29 p.m., officers used Tasers after Cisneros began brandishing both knives. The devices did not stop her. When she moved toward police with the blades pointed in their direction, officers opened fire and struck her. She was transported to Bellevue Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Both knives were recovered at the scene, according to police.

Authorities said the standoff followed a stabbing near West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue, where Cisneros allegedly attacked a 68-year-old man and seriously wounded him.

She then walked north while carrying a knife in each hand before fatally stabbing 32-year-old Erin Piacenti, of Chester, New Jersey, near West 42nd Street about 20 seconds later.

Transit officers encountered Cisneros outside One Times Square about a minute later and repeatedly ordered her to drop the knives while attempting to engage her in conversation. Additional officers soon arrived and joined the effort to de-escalate the confrontation.

Piacenti, a Bank of America executive and Fordham Law graduate, had returned to work just days earlier after spending five months on maternity leave caring for her newborn daughter. She died from her injuries. The 68-year-old man survived after suffering a stab wound to the abdomen.

Police have described the attacks as random and unprovoked.

The NYPD said Cisneros had documented mental health-related encounters with the department in 2018 and 2019 but no prior arrest record. There was no indication the attack was related to terrorism.

The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division continues to investigate the shooting before the case is presented to the department’s Use of Force Review Board.