Bold claim: a courtroom clash over a shooting that raises urgent questions about mental health, policing, and who should be helped first. But here’s where it gets controversial...
Queens prosecutors pressed charges Friday against 22-year-old Jabez Chakraborty, who was shot by police last month, despite objections from Mayor Zohran Mamdani and from family members who argued he needed medical transport—not a confrontation with law enforcement. Chakraborty pleaded not guilty to attempted assault and criminal weapons possession and was held on bail, over objections from his attorney who noted he remains bed-bound at Jamaica Hospital.
The case unfolds amid body-camera footage released by the city showing Chakraborty approaching officers with a kitchen knife after family members had pleaded for him to stop and for help, rather than a confrontation. The narrative has drawn scrutiny because the family criticized how city staff responded to their call during a mental-health crisis, and Mamdani has urged that Chakraborty receive mental-health care, not criminal prosecution.
Chakraborty appeared remotely from his hospital bed in Judge Jessica Earle-Gargan’s courtroom, unshaven and wrapped in a blanket, tearful at times, and answering in a soft voice when asked if he understood the charges.
During a tense hearing with Chakraborty’s mother present, prosecutors, defense lawyers, advocates, and police union representatives presented competing versions of the morning’s events. Prosecutors described a sister’s body-camera remark that she feared her brother would “murder” her. Defense attorneys countered that the family was following a psychiatrist’s orders and called 911 to secure involuntary transport for Chakraborty.
Judge Earle-Gargan commented that the mental-health system had failed in this case, calling it a tragedy and acknowledging the difficulty of balancing perspectives. She set Chakraborty’s bail at $50,000 cash or $100,000 bond backed by insurance.
New details emerged from both sides: prosecutors said the sister believed Chakraborty was attacking her, and noted that prior incidents on December 7 involved assaults on his mother and father, a broken door, and an alleged hammer threat toward a neighbor. District Attorney Melinda Katz had sought protective orders, though the judge did not grant them because the family reportedly did not want them.
Chakraborty’s defense team described him as undergoing treatment that needed adjustment and characterized him as having a childlike demeanor. They noted that despite the sister’s expressions of fear immediately after the shooting, she continues to care for him and wants him to return home eventually.
Katz did not disclose specifics about police follow-up questions to the family or the timing and authority around searches of family members’ phones, though the family has said they faced pressure to surrender their devices and were asked immigration-related questions.
After court, Chakraborty’s mother read a brief statement, asking why the charges were pursued when all they needed was medical transport and expressing that Katz should reconsider. She described the proceedings as a nightmare and urged the district attorney to drop the charges so Jabez could focus on recovery.
Four members of the Police Benevolent Association sat with the family at arraignment. Outside, union president Patrick Hendry echoed the sentiment that the case should run through the justice system and not be a public decision.
Mayor Mamdani, attending an unrelated event, reiterated that no family should endure such pain and pressed for a city-wide rethink of how mental-health crises are handled—emphasizing that Chakraborty should receive care, not punishment.
Katz pushed back, signaling that she looks forward to hearing Mamdani’s proposals for reform while insisting the mental-health system’s shortcomings are real and warrant assessment. For now, she underscored that the case must proceed with the facts as they stand.
This report has been updated as new information became available.
