Heart-pounding bodycam footage shows the moment an NYPD officer shot and wounded a mentally ill 22-year-old man who lunged at the cop with a knife inside a Queens home last week.
The Jan. 26 police shooting of schizophrenic man Jabez Chakraborty has prompted backlash from the family, and fueled a renewed push from Mayor Zohran Mamdani for his proposed Department of Community Safety to deal with mental health crises.
The clip, released by the NYPD on Tuesday, begins with a 911 call from a female relative who requested “involuntary transportation” for Chakraborty, who she said had been hurling glass against the wall.
The family member initially asked for only EMS — not police — referring to a previous time that officers responded to a call involving Chakraborty, who officials described as having a “history of mental issues.”
“Last time when something like this happened, we called for the cops and they said we should have called for an ambulance instead,” the relative said.
But the operator replied that “normally both parties” – meaning the NYPD and FDNY – respond to such cases.
The footage then moves to the moment two officers – including Tyree White – arrived at the doorstep on Parsons Boulevard near 85th Avenue in Briarwood and knocked, before stepping back.
“Ever since I’ve been watching videos, I don’t stand by the door no more,” White can be heard saying.
“I know, you just never know, right?” the second officer replied.
A woman answered the door and the uniformed cops followed her into the living room – only for Chakraborty to immediately grab a knife from the kitchen and brandish it as he stepped toward White.
A female relative stood in front of him and tried to block him with her arm, but he continued to step forward, blade in hand.
“Put the knife down! Drop the knife!” White could be heard yelling multiple times.
White walked into the vestibule and closed a door to keep Chakraborty from advancing on him, the clip shows.
But Chakraborty pushed his way through the door and again stepped toward White, knife in hand, according to the footage.
That’s when White opened fire, hitting Chakraborty four times, as family members yelled and cried.
Chakraborty was taken to Jamaica University Hospital Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition.
Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said in a statement that the officers involved “did their job professionally and with restraint under terrible circumstances.”
“The video makes it clear that these police officers walked into an unpredictable, fast-moving and dangerous situation,” the union head said. “There was no time or space for them to deescalate the situation before they were forced to act.”
But the wounded man’s family slammed cops’ response, claiming in a Wednesday statement that officers “caused the situation to escalate quickly and unnecessarily.”
“Rather than de-escalate the situation, the officer instead further escalated by drawing his gun and yelling orders at Jabez.”
“Within a minute of NYPD’s arrival, Jabez was shot multiple times and almost killed, while he was calmly eating food just minutes earlier,” the family said. “This is why officers should not be responding to medical support calls.”
The family also called on the Queens DA’s office to “drop the prosecution against our son.”
“Given our experience, and that of many other families, we call on the Mayor for systems where we can call for responders who are not police,” the statement said. “We call for changes where the needs of families in the aftermath of such incidents are centered rather than further traumatized over and over.”
In response, an NYPD spokesperson said Wednesday that “the 911 caller requested an involuntary transport. EMS cannot transfer someone involuntarily and NYPD must be present.”
Mamdani on Tuesday said he didn’t believe Chakraborty should face criminal charges, telling reporters “in viewing [police body-cam] footage, it is clear to me that what Jabez needs is mental health treatment, not criminal prosecution from a district attorney.”
He argued that Chakraborty’s shooting highlighted the urgent need for a different mental health response system.
“That is why I proposed creating a Department of Community Safety to build a mental health system rooted in prevention, and sustained care, and a real crisis response, so officers no longer have to handle these situations alone,” he said at an unrelated press conference.