NEW YORK, NY – The family of a 22-year-old Queens man who suffers from schizophrenia is demanding changes to New York City’s emergency response system after they called 911 requesting medical help and police officers arrived and shot him instead.
Jabez Chakraborty was shot by NYPD officers on January 26 after his family called 911 and asked for involuntary medical transportation, according to body camera footage and a 911 recording released this week by the department.
In the 911 call, a family member can be heard telling the operator, “We want involuntary transportation.” When the operator asked for clarification, the caller responded, “We need an ambulance.”
Instead of the medical response the family expected, NYPD officers arrived at the scene. The encounter ended with Chakraborty being shot. Details of what occurred between officers and Chakraborty during the encounter have not been fully disclosed by authorities.
Simran Thind, an organizer with Desis Rising Up and Moving, a community advocacy group serving as the Chakraborty family’s spokesperson, said the family expected medical support, not armed police officers.
“I think it is very clear that officers have multiple options, and they’re not well equipped to actually deal with these sorts of crises,” Thind told PIX 11 News. “There just needs to be better systems for responders to come in, who are actually not police.”
An NYPD spokesperson said it is department policy that when someone calls 911 requesting “involuntary transport” or uses similar language, both the NYPD and FDNY EMS are required to respond.
The family is calling on the Queens District Attorney to drop pending criminal charges against Chakraborty and is pushing for the city to develop non-police crisis response alternatives for residents experiencing mental health emergencies.
The NYPD released the body camera footage on Tuesday, followed by the 911 audio on Wednesday, as scrutiny of the incident continues to grow.
