New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani ignited fresh outrage this week after publicly sympathizing with a man who tried to stab police officers—while offering little visible concern for the officers who nearly lost their lives in the encounter.
The incident unfolded on Jan. 26 in the Briarwood section of Queens, when New York Police Department officers responded to an emergency call at a residence on Parsons Blvd. The suspect, 22-year-old Jabez Chakraborty, was shot by police after charging at officers while holding a large kitchen knife.
According to NYPD officials, Chakraborty’s own family called 911 after he began throwing glass inside the home. When officers arrived, they attempted to de-escalate the situation. Police said Chakraborty was holding a large knife and repeatedly refused commands to drop it.
Officers tried to isolate him by closing a glass door between themselves and Chakraborty in the living room. That effort failed.
Police say Chakraborty forced the door open and moved toward officers with the knife extended, overwhelming them. NYPD officials stressed that officers did not draw their firearms until Chakraborty pulled the knife and advanced.
One officer then fired several shots, striking Chakraborty. After the shooting, officers immediately rendered first aid and attempted to stop the bleeding, according to police.
Chakraborty was transported to a hospital and listed in critical but stable condition. His family later said he had been shot at least four times.
Footage of the attack showing Chakraborty charging officers with a knife, forcing police to defend themselves:
Despite those facts, Mayor Mamdani quickly shifted the focus away from the officers who were placed in mortal danger.
In a statement, Chakraborty’s family said they had requested medical help rather than police intervention.
“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.”
The Queens district attorney’s office opened an investigation into the shooting, with preliminary reports indicating prosecutors were examining whether to seek an indictment for attempted murder.
But after reviewing body camera footage, Mamdani announced that he does not believe criminal prosecution is appropriate.
“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 during a news conference.
Mamdani went on to argue that the incident proves police should not be the primary responders in situations involving mental illness.
“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 mayor said he later met with Chakraborty’s family, who criticized his initial response to the shooting.
Shortly after the incident, Mamdani released a statement saying 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.”
The family said that statement only deepened their anger.
“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 said.
“Why is the mayor applauding officers who recklessly almost killed our son in front of us?”
The NYPD has maintained that officers attempted de-escalation and fired only when faced with an immediate threat. The district attorney’s investigation remains ongoing as officials review body camera footage, witness accounts, and other evidence.
For many New Yorkers, however, the larger issue is already clear: when a mayor’s first instinct is to console a knife-wielding suspect rather than unequivocally stand with officers who were nearly stabbed to death, something in the city’s leadership has gone profoundly wrong.
