911 call shows Queens family asked for ambulance before NYPD shot son in mental health crisis

A 911 Call Reveals the Devastating Consequences of Police Response in a Mental Health Crisis.

In a haunting 911 call, obtained by authorities on Wednesday, a family in Queens desperately sought help for their son's mental health emergency. Jabez Chakraborty, 22, had been calmly eating food at his home just minutes before police arrived, but the officers' presence sent the situation spiraling out of control.

When a family member called 911, they explicitly requested an ambulance and clarified that their son was not violent and had no weapons. However, the dispatcher's response suggested that both police and EMS would respond to the call, raising questions about why the request for involuntary transportation was automatically denied in favor of a more confrontational approach.

The officers' actions were captured on body camera footage, which shows Chakraborty picking up a kitchen knife after being entered by the police. The situation escalated when an officer drew his gun and yelled orders at Chakraborty, who then advanced towards them before being shot multiple times.

According to eyewitnesses, including Chakraborty's family, the officers' presence caused the situation to deteriorate rapidly. "Rather than de-escalate the situation, the officer instead further escalated by drawing his gun and yelling orders at Jabez," they said in a statement. The family is now demanding that the Queens DA drop the prosecution against their son and push for reforms within the NYPD.

Chakraborty remains in intensive care after undergoing multiple surgeries and is currently handcuffed to his hospital bed, facing prosecution by the Queens district attorney's office. His family is also seeking release of all recordings from the incident, including footage of officers questioning them after the shooting.

The case has reignited calls for a Department of Community Safety that would send clinicians instead of police to some mental health calls. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has acknowledged Chakraborty needed mental health treatment rather than criminal prosecution, but it remains unclear whether concrete reforms will be implemented in response to this tragedy.

ugh I cant even handle the horror of this story its like they really did everything possible wrong police officers are trained to handle high risk situations but not mental health emergencies apparently a call for help meant a call for backup and instead of getting Jabez the help he needed, they escalated the situation

I think we need to rethink our approach to mental health crisis in this country. 911 operators are supposed to connect us with people who care, but what's being done is having them connect us with the very same system that's causing harm and its not just Jabez who suffers its a whole family and community affected by police brutality

we need more than just words of condolence we need concrete actions. A department of community safety would be a game changer but we cant rely on our leaders to do the right thing when they're still making decisions that are hurting people like Jabez

man thats so messed up 911 call is literally supposed to be about life or death situations not just mental health crises the police presence is what escalated the situation instead of de-escalating it they shouldve sent an ambulance alone and left the officers out of it all in all this tragedy is being caused by bureaucracy and a lack of understanding of mental health

what's up with these new recruits at the NYPD?!? they just went and messed up a situation that was clearly NOT violent 22 yrs old dude gets shot multiple times cuz they drew their gun & yelled orders... meanwhile his family was just trying to help him get some mental health help the fact that he's handcuffed in his hospital bed is just, like, wow...

i'm low-key calling for a Department of Community Safety 4 real though no more sending cops instead of clinicians to mental health calls it's just not right mayor Mamdani is talkin' the talk but is he gonna walk the walk? we need some concrete reforms ASAP

Can you believe what happened with Jabez? The 911 call just broke my heart... I mean, the family was so clear about not wanting a confrontational approach, but the police just went ahead and made it worse. It's like they didn't care that the kid was having a mental health crisis in the first place!

And what's with the automatic response to send both cops and EMS? Like, isn't this exactly the kind of situation where you want to prioritize getting help ASAP without the added risk of police presence?! I'm not saying the officers are bad people, but... ugh, just thinking about it is giving me anxiety . We need real reform here, like a Department of Community Safety that can actually help people in crisis instead of putting them in harm's way.

This is just so heartbreaking... another life lost to a system that should be helping, not hurting. The officers didn't know Jabez was having a mental breakdown & needed help, but they still showed up & escalated the situation . His family's right to have their son get the care he needs instead of being shot is being ignored . It's time for change & that Department of Community Safety idea isn't just a pipe dream anymore...

This 911 call is just heartbreaking ... I mean, you can hear the desperation in that family's voices, right? They're trying to get help for their son, who's clearly struggling with his mental health, but what do they get instead of support and care? A bunch of cops showing up and escalating the situation. It's just so frustrating ... I mean, why can't we have a system in place where clinicians are sent to deal with these kinds of situations instead of police? It would make all the difference, you know?

Ugh, man ... I'm still trying to process what happened with Jabez Chakraborty. The layout of the 911 call is already giving me nightmares - the dispatcher's response was like a big ol' mess, it just escalated the situation so fast! And can we talk about how unnecessary it was for the officers to draw their guns? It's like they were waiting for something to go wrong and then BAM! The whole thing is just so frustrating. I'm all about that community safety vibe now, you know? Let's get some serious reforms going on in the NYPD and make sure we're sending clinicians instead of cops to mental health emergencies. It's time for a new format, one that prioritizes people's well-being over punishment.

This is soooo sad . The police response was all wrong . They should have just listened and gotten help for Jabez instead of making it worse . It's like they didn't even try to calm him down . Now he's in intensive care and facing a long road to recovery . The family is really upset and the city needs to do something about this . We need more mental health support and less police presence . It's time for change .

omg this is so sad the family was just trying to get help for their son and the police just made things worse... i dont think drawing a gun on someone with mental health issues is gonna make them calm down lol it just makes everyone even more aggroed the fact that they went thru multiple surgeries and now his fam has to deal w/ prosecution too? its like, isnt there a better way 2 handle these situations?! and now theres talk of reforms but wut if they dont happen? the idea of a department of community safety is actually kinda sweet though maybe we can learn from this tragedy and make some real change

This case is just heartbreaking ... I mean, can you imagine if those officers had just listened to the family and gotten Jabez some help instead of causing a scene? The kid was already calm and eating food at home, what more did they want him to do?! It's crazy that they had to call 911 in the first place because their own police department didn't know how to handle it. And now he's stuck in intensive care with multiple surgeries... it's just so sad . And can we talk about how messed up it is that his family is being prosecuted for trying to get him help? This case needs some serious reform, like a Department of Community Safety or something. It's not like they're asking for much, just some trained people who know what they're doing to help someone in need .

my heart is literally breaking for jabez and his family ...can you even imagine being in that situation and having the police make things worse instead of better? they just ended up traumatizing a kid who was already struggling with mental health issues and now he's facing prosecution...it's just not right. we need to demand some serious changes in our system, like sending actual clinicians to help people in crisis instead of cops. it's time for us to prioritize compassion over punishment and make sure that everyone has access to the care they need, not just those who can afford it

man... think about all those times you see movies or shows where the cop just shows up and somehow manages to defuse the situation... newsflash, that's not how real life works! and what's even crazier is they're actually questioning why they didn't send an ambulance instead of calling in more cops. like, don't you get it? Mental health emergencies aren't necessarily about 'crisis' or 'emergency', it's just someone who needs help... a lot of these cases are already resolved by just talking to people and finding them some resources

anyway... this Jabez kid, he's just another victim of systemic issues . we gotta get our heads around this, not just the NYPD but the whole system... like, how do you even reform something that's been broken for so long? it's gonna take time and patience, but we need to start having these conversations now

This is just so heartbreaking I mean what's the point of having emergency services if they're just gonna make things worse? Like seriously a 22 yr old kid eating food at home and all he needs is some help but no the cops show up and suddenly he's a threat . And what's with the automatic denial of involuntary transport just because there's both police and EMS? Don't they know that's exactly when you need someone to talk you down not some heavy-handed cop. I mean it's not like Jabez did anything wrong he was just having a mental health crisis and needed some help. The fact that his family is still dealing with all this trauma is just awful...

This is just another example of how our system fails when it comes to handling mental health crises The fact that a 911 call could lead to such a traumatic outcome shows us that we need better training and protocols for law enforcement, especially when dealing with individuals who are struggling with their mental health We can't just assume that every situation is going to escalate into violence Instead of calling in the police, what if we had specialized teams trained in de-escalation techniques who could help these individuals get the support they need? It's time for us to rethink our approach and prioritize community safety over punishment.

This is so crazy the family just wanted help for their son and they got this whole mess instead... I'm all about helping people with mental health issues, we need more resources for that. But at the same time, police aren't trained for this stuff, it's like throwing a fire extinguisher in a burning building... they're gonna make things worse. These reforms are needed ASAP , but it's hard to see how that's gonna happen when there are so many bureaucrats holding up change. And btw, can we talk about how the family got handcuffed after being shot? That's just messed up

this is just heartbreaking... the family's desperation for help was completely misunderstood and escalated into a deadly situation how can we expect someone in crisis mode to feel better with officers yelling at them & drawing their gun? it's clear that Jabez needed support, not confrontation and the fact that he's still in intensive care is just devastating... his family's fight for reform is well-deserved but let's also hope that this tragedy leads to real change and more resources being allocated to mental health support systems instead of relying on police response