Queens District Lawyer Melinda Katz on Friday filed costs of tried assault within the first diploma and prison possession of a weapon within the fourth diploma towards Jabez Chakraborty, a 22-year-old man who has lived with schizophrenia who was shot final month by cops. The cost comes regardless of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s public pleas to not have him prosecuted.
Chakraborty pleaded not responsible because the indictment was unsealed at an arraignment the place he appeared just about from Jamaica Hospital, the place he’s nonetheless recovering from a number of gunshot wounds because the Jan. 26 incident. He periodically burst into tears all through the continuing.
Choose Jessica Earle-Gargan rejected the DA’s request to carry Chakraborty, who has no prior prison convictions, with out bail at the same time as a prosecutor described him as a violent man who had attacked his household and a neighbor on prior events.
She as an alternative granted his launch on $50,000 bail.
Chakraborty is confined to a hospital mattress with severe wounds to his abdomen and groin that go away him unable to face or stroll.
“That is a particularly troublesome case,” Choose Earle-Gargan mentioned whereas criticizing town and state psychological well being methods. “It is a tragic scenario to say the least.”
Talking to reporters simply after the arraignment, Katz defended her charging resolution, rhetorically asking: “What occurs if we take no motion and he harms another person? Mr. Chakraborty’s actions have been fairly severe and he now faces severe penalties.”
Requested about Mamdani’s calling on her to not pursue costs, Katz didn’t reply reply instantly however as an alternative praised the brand new mayor’s efforts to try to.tackle psychological well being considerations.
“It is a nightmare. We didn’t want police, we simply wanted medical transport. Once we known as 911 for an ambulance, we by no means may have imagined that we’d find yourself right here at the moment,” Chakraborty’s household mentioned in a press release.
“Jabez and our household have been protected in our dwelling till the NYPD arrived,” his household mentioned. “Now Jabez is recovering from a number of surgical procedures, handcuffed to a hospital mattress. He has an extended, troublesome restoration forward. Now DA Katz desires to place him in jail. Hasn’t he suffered sufficient?”
‘We Have been Terrified’
Requested in regards to the costs by THE CITY at an unrelated press convention earlier on Friday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani — who made reforming how town responds to psychological well being emergencies one among his central marketing campaign pledges — mentioned he had not spoken with Katz instantly whereas repeating his place that Chakraborty shouldn’t be charged.
“No household ought to should endure this type of ache. What they want proper now’s care, dignity, and assist,” Mamdani mentioned. “Jabez shouldn’t be prosecuted by the Queen’s district lawyer. His handcuffs needs to be eliminated, and he needs to be receiving the care that he wants.”
Chakraborty was shot inside his household’s dwelling after a member of the family known as 911 to report he was experiencing a psychological well being disaster. They requested for an ambulance and advised a 911 dispatcher he was having a schizophrenic episode, saying he’d thrown glass on the wall however had no weapons and wasn’t violent. The caller sought “an “involuntary transport” to the hospital.
When two officers entered the house in Jamaica, Queens, Chakraborty picked up a giant kitchen knife and superior towards them, physique digicam footage launched by the NYPD confirmed, whereas a member of the family tried to carry him again and protect him from officers.
Lower than 30 seconds after they entered the house, one of many cops fired 4 photographs, critically injuring Chakraborty.
Shortly after the taking pictures, Mamdani’s workplace launched a press release the place he praised “:the primary responders who put themselves on the road every day to maintain our communities protected.”
However 4 days later, Chakraborty’s household launched their very own assertion via the group DRUM, Desis Rising Up & Transferring, a gaggle that had been strongly supportive of Mamdani’s candidacy, decrying the NYPD’s actions. After the taking pictures, the household mentioned, NYPD officers had seized their telephones and questioned them on their immigration standing whereas Jabez was nonetheless mendacity on the bottom.
“We didn’t name the police. As a substitute of medical responders, the NYPD arrived and shot our son a number of occasions proper in entrance of us,” the assertion learn. “As our son was being shot, we have been terrified that what occurred to Win Rozario was going to occur to Jabez.” (Rozario was 19 years outdated in 2024, when he was fatally shot by officers responding to a name for a psychological well being emergency after he superior towards them whereas holding a pair of scissors.)
Mamdani quickly visited Chakraborty within the hospital and asking the DA to not file costs.
The taking pictures restored give attention to Mamdani’s promise to drastically scale back the variety of police interactions with people experiencing psychiatric episodes via the formation of a brand new Division of Neighborhood Security. That division continues to be within the planning phases and particulars stay scant.
THE CITY reported this week that 86% of 911 psychological well being calls are routed to the NYPD regardless of the growth of B-HEARD, a program began underneath de Blasio.
This system is meant to ship psychological well being clinicians as an alternative of NYPD officers. Solely a small share of these calls have been dealt with by psychological well being clinicians, THE CITY discovered.
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