Dramatic video shows moment NYPD shoots Bangladeshi youth in New York

Noman Sabit: Heart rates are likely to rise for anyone who watches the New York Police Department’s body-camera footage. The video shows the moment an NYPD officer shot and wounded a 22-year-old Bangladeshi man suffering from mental illness who was holding a knife inside a home in Queens last week.

The shooting of Jabez Chakraborty, a Bangladeshi youth diagnosed with schizophrenia, on January 26 has triggered a strong reaction from his family and renewed calls for addressing mental-health crises through Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s proposed “Department of Community Safety.”

The video clip, released by the New York Police Department on Tuesday, begins with a 911 call placed by a female relative. She requested “involuntary transportation” to a hospital for Chakraborty and reported that he was throwing glass toward the wall.

The family member initially asked only for EMS—not police. She referenced a previous incident in which officers had responded to Chakraborty and told the family they should have called an ambulance rather than the police. At that time, officers had described Chakraborty as having a “history of mental health issues.”

“She said, ‘Last time something like this happened, we called the police, and they told us we should have called an ambulance,’” the caller told the dispatcher.

The operator responded that in such situations, “both sides”—the NYPD and the New York City Fire Department—typically respond.

The footage then shows two police officers—one identified as Tyree White—arriving at the front door of the home near Parsons Boulevard and 85th Avenue in the Briarwood area of Queens. They knock and step back.

White is heard saying, “Since watching videos like this, I don’t stand right in front of the door anymore.”

The second officer replies, “Yeah, you never know what can happen.”

When a woman opens the door, the uniformed officers follow her into the living room. At that moment, Chakraborty retrieves a knife from the kitchen and begins advancing toward White.

A female relative steps in front of him, extending her arms in an attempt to stop him, but Chakraborty continues moving forward with the knife.

White is repeatedly heard shouting, “Drop the knife! Drop the knife!”

The footage shows White retreating into the vestibule and closing the door in an attempt to prevent Chakraborty from advancing further. Chakraborty then pushes the door open and again approaches White with the knife.

At that point, White fires his weapon. Chakraborty is struck four times. Family members can be heard screaming and crying.

Chakraborty was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was reported to be in stable condition.

In a statement, Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said the officers involved “performed their duties with professionalism and restraint under extremely dangerous circumstances.”

“The video clearly shows that these officers were confronted with an uncertain, rapidly evolving, and dangerous situation,” the union leader said. “They had no time or opportunity to de-escalate before acting.”

Chakraborty’s family, however, sharply criticized the police response. In a statement released Wednesday, they alleged that officers “unnecessarily and very quickly escalated the situation.”

“Instead of de-escalating, the officer drew his gun and shouted commands at Jabez, making the situation more chaotic,” the family said.

They added that Chakraborty was shot multiple times within one minute of the NYPD’s arrival and “nearly died,” despite having been calmly eating just minutes earlier. “This is precisely why police should not be dispatched in response to calls seeking medical assistance,” the statement said.

The family also urged the Queens District Attorney’s Office to drop any charges against their son.

“Our experience—and that of many other families—compels us to demand a system where we can call responders other than the police,” the statement said. “We want change so that, after such incidents, families’ needs are prioritized and they are not repeatedly retraumatized.”

Responding to the criticism, an NYPD spokesperson said Wednesday that the 911 caller had requested involuntary hospitalization. Because EMS cannot forcibly transport someone, police presence was required.

On Tuesday, Mayor Mamdani said he does not believe criminal charges should be brought against Chakraborty.

“T‌he body-camera footage makes it clear to me that what Jabez needs is mental-health treatment—not prosecution by a district attorney,” Mamdani told reporters.

He argued that the shooting underscores the urgent need for a different, mental-health-focused crisis response system.

“That is why I have proposed the creation of a Department of Community Safety,” Mamdani said, “to build a mental-health response grounded in prevention, continuity of care, and real crisis intervention—so police are no longer left to handle these situations alone.”

(*This report is produced by Bangla Press. Republishing our content, images, or broadcasts in any other media outlet without permission is strictly prohibited.)

BP/SM