The Queens District on Friday filed assault and criminal weapons possession charges against Jabez Chakraborty, the 22-year-old man shot last month by NYPD officers during a mental health crisis, despite Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s public pleas not to have him criminally charged.
The charges came as Chakraborty remains hospitalized at Jamaica Hospital, where he’s been recovering from multiple gunshot wounds since the Jan. 26 incident.
Chakraborty pled not guilty to both charges, according to Queens Criminal Court records.
Asked about the charges by THE CITY at an unrelated press conference earlier on Friday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani — who made reforming how the city responds to mental health emergencies one of his central campaign pledges — said he had not spoken with Katz directly but repeated his position that Chakraborty should not be charged.
“No family should have to endure this kind of pain. What they need right now is care, dignity, and support,” Mamdani said. “Jabez should not be prosecuted by the Queen’s district attorney. His handcuffs should be removed, and he should be receiving the care that he needs.”
Chakraborty was shot inside his family’s home after a family member called 911 to report he was experiencing a mental health crisis. They asked for an ambulance and told a 911 dispatcher he was having a schizophrenic episode, saying he’d thrown glass at the wall but had no weapons and wasn’t violent. The caller sought “an “involuntary transport” to the hospital.
When two officers entered the home in Jamaica, Queens, Chakraborty picked up a big kitchen knife and advanced toward them, body camera footage released by the NYPD showed, while a family member tried to hold him back and shield him from officers.
Less than 30 seconds after they entered the home, one of the cops fired four shots, critically injuring Chakraborty.
