News/Commentary

‘His handcuffs should be removed’: Mamdani calls for man who charged cops with a knife to be freed

February 14, 2026 | | Print Article

Leftist New York City (NYC) Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been going to bat for a violent schizophrenic criminal who was non-fatally shot by the police after he charged at them with a knife last month.

The 22-year-old, Jabez Chakraborty, reportedly lunged at the police with a knife when they were called to his family’s home on Jan. 26 on account of him allegedly having a mental breakdown and throwing glass at the wall.

In response, the police opened fire, wounding him:

Yet following the incident, Mamdani started going to bat for Chakraborty by not only visiting him at the hospital but also calling for him not to be charged.

“No family should have to endure this kind of pain,” he said at a recent press conference. “What they need right now is care, dignity and support. Jabez should not be prosecuted by the Queens district attorney. His handcuffs should be removed and he should be receiving the care that he needs.”

Listen:

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The prosecutor disagreed.

“Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz on Friday filed charges of attempted assault in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree against” Chakraborty, according to The City.

In defending the decision in court, Katz quoted Chakraborty’s sister, who’d told the police he “could have murdered” her and her family.

She and her team also pointed to his past behavior.

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“They said that on Dec. 7, he’d also attacked his mother and father, breaking down a door to get them, and said he’d attempted to attack a neighbor with a hammer,” according to Gothamist.

The guy was clearly a disturbed, violent menace, as evidenced by his behavior before and during the Jan. 26 incident.

However, Judge Jessica Earle-Gargan rejected Katz’s demand to hold Chakraborty without bail and chose to authorize his release back to his family on a $50,000 bond.

Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Katz fiercely defended her decision — one opposed by Mamdani — to charge Chakraborty.

“What happens if we take no action and he harms someone else?” she asked rhetorically. “Mr. Chakraborty’s actions were quite serious and he now faces serious consequences.”

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Meanwhile, Chakraborty’s family continues to insist he was no genuine threat and therefore didn’t deserve to be charged.

“Jabez and our family were safe in our home until the NYPD arrived,” the family said in a statement. “Now Jabez is recovering from multiple surgeries, handcuffed to a hospital bed. He has a long, difficult recovery ahead. Now DA Katz wants to put him in prison. Hasn’t he suffered enough?”

“This is a nightmare. We didn’t need police, we just needed medical transport. Katz must have no heart at all. Why does she want to torture a young man who has already suffered so much? Our family is demanding that she drop these charges against Jabez and that he be unshackled as he recovers,” they added.

But critics say this “suffering” is EXACTLY what Chakraborty needed all along. That’s why, during his most recent court hearing, he wasn’t acting violently any longer — he was crying after having been humbled by the police.

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Critics also say that Mamdani clearly has everything backwards, as usual.

Vivek Saxena
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