New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is pressing city prosecutors to abandon attempted murder charges against a man who was shot by police after allegedly advancing toward officers with a knife during what relatives describe as a severe mental health episode.

The incident unfolded on January 26 in a Queens residence, according to body camera footage released by the New York Police Department. Officers were dispatched following a 911 call from family members who said 22-year-old Jabez Chakraborty was in the midst of a psychiatric emergency and needed to be taken to a medical facility. During the call, a relative reported that Chakraborty had thrown a glass against a wall. When police arrived, they were allowed inside by a woman at the door, at which point Chakraborty appeared behind her holding a large kitchen knife. As the woman extended her arm in front of him, officers drew their weapons and issued commands.

Video from the encounter shows officers shutting the front door, placing it between themselves and Chakraborty. Despite the barrier, authorities say Chakraborty continued to press forward and attempt to push through the door, leading one of the officers to fire four shots.

Chakraborty was rushed to a hospital and remains in intensive care, where he is listed in stable but critical condition.

In the aftermath, the Queens District Attorney’s Office moved to pursue criminal charges against Chakraborty, who family members say has schizophrenia. Relatives have objected strongly, insisting they called for medical help, not law enforcement action, and arguing that police responses intensified an already fragile situation.

“Rather than de-escalate the situation, the officer instead further escalated by drawing his gun and yelling orders at Jabez,” the family wrote. “Within a minute of NYPD’s arrival, Jabez was shot multiple times and almost killed, while he was calmly eating food just minutes earlier.”

Mamdani, who centered his mayoral campaign on reforming how the city handles mental health emergencies, echoed the family’s objections and said prosecution is not the appropriate response in this case.

“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,” Mamdani said.

“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,” Mamdani continued.

{Matzav.com}