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New Yorkers are rightly furious after Mayor Zohran Mamdani suggested that a mentally ill man who allegedly charged NYPD officers with a large kitchen knife should not be prosecuted. The incident in Briarwood on January 26 left 22-year-old Jabez Chakraborty critically wounded after officers say he advanced on them with a knife — yet the mayor rushed to defend him and tell the public that prosecution isn’t the answer.
Body-worn camera footage and the family’s 911 call released by the NYPD show officers repeatedly ordering the man to drop the weapon before one officer opened fire when he forced his way through a door and continued toward them. The chaotic scene underscores the split-second danger officers face when responding to calls that spiral out of control, and voters should not tolerate political leaders second-guessing split-second life-or-death decisions.
Instead of backing the men and women tasked with keeping our streets safe, Mamdani publicly declared that Chakraborty “should not be prosecuted” and demanded his handcuffs be removed while arguing for treatment over charges. That kind of rhetoric sends a dangerous message: that violent behavior can be excused away by ideology and political theater, and that law enforcement will be left exposed by leaders more interested in scoring progressive points than protecting citizens.
The Queens District Attorney’s office — rightly focused on public safety — moved forward with charges and arraigned Chakraborty virtually from his hospital bed on accusations including attempted assault and criminal possession. Prosecutors and judges must be allowed to evaluate evidence and apply the law without political pressure, especially in cases where officers’ safety and the public’s safety are at stake.
Families who called 911 say they asked only for an ambulance, not police, and they are now traumatized by how the situation unfolded at their kitchen table; city officials say both EMS and police were dispatched. This chaos reveals a broken response system, but the answer is better coordination and stronger crisis teams — not public proclamations that criminal acts should go unpunished. Leaders must fix the system without letting dangerous behavior go unchecked.
Mayor Mamdani is right that the city needs a better mental-health crisis response, and his idea for a Department of Community Safety deserves scrutiny — but policy experiments cannot replace basic accountability. Conservatives can support compassionate care for the vulnerable while also insisting that people who threaten others with knives face the consequences of their actions. Voters should demand both effective mental-health interventions and unwavering support for law and order from those who claim to govern our city.
