New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani expressed on Tuesday his stance that the Queens district attorney should refrain from prosecuting a mentally ill man who was shot by police after charging at them with a knife. Mamdani advocates for the man to receive mental health care rather than face legal action.
The incident involved 22-year-old Jabez Chakraborty, who was reported to have been wielding a large kitchen knife when he confronted police officers responding to a family emergency call on January 26. According to NYPD officials, the officers repeatedly instructed Chakraborty to drop the weapon as they tried to defuse the situation. When efforts to calm him failed, an officer discharged several shots, critically injuring Chakraborty, who was subsequently hospitalized.
The emergency call originated from Chakraborty’s family, who reported that he was throwing glass objects in their Briarwood home on Parsons Blvd, as stated by the NYPD and reported by the New York Daily News.
As officers arrived on the scene, Chakraborty allegedly charged at them with the knife. Despite multiple commands to disarm, he reportedly forced open a glass door that officers used in an attempt to isolate him in the living room, subsequently advancing towards them with the knife.
Mayor Mamdani’s plea for mental health intervention over prosecution reflects his belief in prioritizing treatment for individuals with mental illnesses involved in such incidents.
Officials noted that the officers only drew their weapons after Chakraborty produced the knife, underscoring their initial approach to manage the situation without resorting to firearms.
The officers provided first aid and attempted to stop the bleeding following the shooting, according to the agency. He was then rushed to the hospital, where he is in critical but stable condition.
The family had asked for emergency medical workers to respond to the incident rather than police, the family said in a statement. The family said Chakraborty was shot at least four times.
“We called for help,” the family said. “We called 911 for an ambulance to provide medical attention for our son, who was in emotional distress. We did not call the police. Instead of medical responders, the NYPD arrived and shot our son multiple times right in front of us.”
Jabez Chakraborty, 22, was holding a large kitchen knife and charged at the officers who responded to the emergency call from the family. (NYPD)
The Queens district attorney’s office is investigating the incident, with preliminary reports suggesting prosecutors were looking at potentially seeking an indictment for attempted murder.
But Mamdani, who has viewed the body camera footage, said the man needs mental health treatment instead of facing criminal charges.
“In viewing this footage, it is clear to me that what Jabez needs is mental health treatment, not criminal prosecution from a district attorney, and we are talking about a family that is enduring the kind of pain that no family should and an individual that has lived with schizophrenia for many years,” the mayor said at a news conference on Tuesday.
“A person experiencing a mental health episode does not always have to be served first or exclusively by a police officer. It is important for us to have all of the options available,” he added.
The officers repeatedly told the man to drop the weapon as they attempted to de-escalate the situation before one officer fired several times. (Susan Watts/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The mayor also said he had met with Chakraborty’s family, who had criticized him for his initial response to the shooting. Mamdani said hours after the shooting that police had “encountered an individual wielding a knife,” and that he was “grateful to the first responders who put themselves on the line each day to keep our communities safe.”
“After all this, we saw Mayor Mamdani’s statement applauding the NYPD officers that shot our son, threatened and lied to us, and kept us from seeing our son for over 24 hours,” the family’s statement read. “Why is the mayor applauding officers who recklessly almost killed our son in front of us?”
