The parents of 22-year-old Jabez Chakraborty called 911 on the morning of January 26, saying their son was in emotional distress and needed medical attention.
NYPD officers arrived at the home within minutes of the call.
The bodycam video released by police on Tuesday depicts NYPD officers being let into the home, but what begins as a standard response takes a turbulent turn as soon as the man sees the officers.
The video appears to show Chakraborty with a knife as a family member tries to stop him from advancing toward the retreating officer.
Body camera footage released of NYPD shooting of 22-year-old in Queens
In the video, you can hear the officer's calls to drop the knife repeatedly before multiple shots are fired.
"The armed male was able to push through the closed door and continued to push toward the officers with the kitchen knife in hand," said NYPD Patrol Borough Queens South Assistant Chief Christopher McIntosh. "At this point, the officers discharged their weapons at the armed male."
Immediately after the shooting, police released images of the large kitchen knife that Chakraborty allegedly used to threaten the officers.
On Tuesday, Mayor Mamdani questioned the protocols that led up to the shooting.
"I visited Jabez in the hospital and there is no family should have to endure this kind of pain," he said. "Jabez has lived with schizophrenia for many years, and this situation underscores just how urgently we need a different and more effective mental health response system that will be safer for New Yorkers who struggle with mental health concerns, for their families and for police officers. Jabez needs mental health treatment, not criminal prosecution by a district attorney."
The young man's family is furious.
"We are shocked and outraged," Chakraborty's family said in a statement. "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 mayor was not critical of the first responders on Tuesday, but suggested that the officers' appearance at the scene might have escalated the situation.
"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," Mamdani said. "As I've said, when there is a violent situation, such as with a weapon, NYPD will be on the scene."
Former NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce weighed in.
"If you're going to send only medical professionals there, understand there's a changing dynamic, quickly they can pick up a weapon and charge at them," he said. "What are they going to do then? How are they going to defend themselves? That's why the police have to go to these things. Now, if you want to pair them up with a medical professional, that's fine."
The mayor's proposal has been heavily criticized, and there are many questions. The mayor says that is all the focus of internal conversations in developing this different approach.
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