Letitia James’ Times Square shooting probe draws GOP criticism over New York’s mental health crisis

Pamela Cisneros, a woman armed with two large knives who fatally stabbed a Bank of America executive in Times Square before being shot and killed by New York City police officers, had a documented history of mental health crises and encounters with authorities but no arrest record in the city, according to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

New York Attorney General Letitia James confirmed Wednesday that her Office of Special Investigation will examine the circumstances surrounding Cisneros's death, a step required by state law whenever a police officer's actions result in a fatality.

The stabbing victim, Erin Piacenti, was a new mother who had just returned from maternity leave and was working in the area when she was killed. Police confronted Cisneros, who was holding a knife in each hand, and ordered her to drop the weapons. When she moved toward the officers, they opened fire.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani commended the officers' actions at a news conference, saying, "I want to thank the NYPD officers who stepped in and prevented a horrific attack from becoming even worse."

Cisneros, who lived in Queens, came to the attention of police on at least two prior occasions. In March 2018, officers found her in Midtown screaming and acting belligerently while intoxicated. A year later, in March 2019, she attempted suicide by jumping onto the tracks of the E train and was removed and hospitalized.

The case has drawn attention to a broader debate over how New York handles people with severe mental illness. Saritha Komatireddy, the Republican candidate for attorney general, argued that the investigation into police conduct misses the underlying issue.

"The problem is that we have people who are known dangerous individuals, people with documented mental illness," Komatireddy said. "They've been in the courts before, or they've been to the hospitals before. The police know exactly who they are, but we have no ability to take care of them."

Komatireddy, who visited Times Square in the days after the attack, said the scene reinforced her concerns. "I was walking around and saw severely mentally ill people on the street. It's still happening every day, and we need someone who's actually going to propose a real solution and way forward."

A campaign spokesperson for James pushed back against Komatireddy's criticism, accusing her of trying to "score cheap political points off of a tragedy."

"Saritha Komatireddy wants to be Attorney General but doesn't understand the law," the spokesperson said in an email. "Under New York's Executive Law, the Office of the Attorney General's Office of Special Investigation is required to investigate any incident where a police officer's actions may have caused a death, including this one."

Komatireddy has proposed creating a new Office of Civil Commitment if elected, staffed by both law enforcement personnel and physicians, to monitor and intervene with individuals deemed at the highest risk. She noted that state law requires a physician to certify that a person meets the criteria for involuntary civil commitment, meaning any such office would need medical expertise alongside policing.

"Hotels and motels don't have doctors, don't have medicine, don't have therapy," Komatireddy said. "The state needs to step in."

The challenges she describes are echoed in more rural parts of the state. Greene County Sheriff Peter Kusminsky said his deputies are not trained to handle psychiatric crises and lack adequate facilities to send people in need of care. Officers are regularly pulled off patrol to respond to mental health calls and often have no choice but to place individuals in hotels, he said.

"Additionally, we really struggle when we have people in custody who we aren't equipped to handle, and secure beds are even harder to find," Kusminsky said. "It sometimes takes weeks or months to locate once and when we do, they are maybe on the other side of the state and at an exorbitant cost."

Under New York's Mental Hygiene Law, police and doctors can take a person into custody for a psychological hold if they are deemed a danger to themselves or others or unable to meet their basic needs. However, those with severe mental illness are frequently released from hospitals back onto the streets within hours.

The New York State Office of Mental Health oversees a system that includes 23 psychiatric centers and roughly 6,500 programs run by local governments and nonprofit organizations.

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).