New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said a knife-wielding man New York Police Department officers shot and wounded at his Queens home last week should not be criminally prosecuted, but instead, needs mental health treatment.
Mamdani visited the man, 22-year-old Jabez Chakraborty, in the hospital, and said he has suffered from schizophrenia for many years.
Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.
Point phone camera here
On Jan. 26, one of Chakraborty’s family members called 911, saying he was having a mental health emergency.
Body camera footage released Tuesday from the shooting shows Chakraborty holding a knife and going up to officers, while a woman tries to hold him back. One officer closes a door between him and Chakraborty, who pushes through it. The officer then opens fire.
“Jabez needs mental health treatment, not criminal prosecution by a district attorney,” Mamdani said. “And that is why, I proposed creating a Department of Community Safety to build a mental health system rooted in prevention and sustained care in real crisis response, so officers no longer have to handle these situations alone.”
Chakraborty’s family also called for a non-police response, saying that officers caused the situation to escalate “quickly and unnecessarily.”
