AG James faces backlash over mandatory probe of fatal police shooting

New York Attorney General Letitia James is under fire for launching a legally required probe into the police shooting of Pamela Cisneros. The incident occurred in Times Square after Cisneros fatally stabbed Erin Piacenti, a Bank of America executive who was returning to work just one week after giving birth. James' office confirmed on Wednesday that they would investigate Cisneros' death. At the time officers arrived, she held two large knives in each hand and refused orders to drop them before being shot when she advanced toward them.

State law mandates that the Attorney General's Office of Special Investigation look into every death caused by police actions. Yet Republican candidate for Attorney General Saritha Komatireddy is urging the office to take harder steps to stop future tragedies involving mentally unstable individuals. She argues that reviewing police conduct misses the core issue entirely. "The problem is that we have people who are known dangerous individuals, people with documented mental illness," Komatireddy told Fox News Digital. "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."

A campaign spokesperson for James pushed back against Komatireddy's comments. They accused 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 wrote in an email to Fox News Digital. "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."

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani praised the officers who intervened in Times Square. He has a history of criticizing police tactics but commended the team that stopped Cisneros from causing more harm. "I want to thank the NYPD officers who stepped in and prevented a horrific attack from becoming even worse," Mamdani said at a news conference.

Jessica Tisch, New York City Police Commissioner, noted that while Cisneros had no arrest record in the city, police responded twice to calls about her mental health crises. In March 2019, she jumped onto the E train tracks and was hospitalized afterward. Back in March 2018, officers found her screaming and acting belligerent while intoxicated in Midtown Queens. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

New York state law allows police and doctors to take a person to a hospital for a psychological hold if they pose a risk to themselves or others or cannot meet basic needs. But often those with severe mental illnesses are released back onto the streets just hours after admission. "I was there in Times Square, just a couple of days after this fatal stabbing, and I was walking around and saw severely mentally ill people on the street," Komatireddy told Fox News Digital. "It's still happening every day, and we need someone who's actually going to propose a real solution and way forward.

Democrats want to stop him. The New York State Office of Mental Health currently oversees the entire system, managing 23 psychiatric centers and 6,500 programs run by local governments and nonprofits. Yet Komatireddy said she would create a new office called the Office of Civil Commitment if elected. This unit would target and monitor people at the highest risk.

"The Office of Civil Commitment that I'm going to launch will be staffed with both law enforcement personnel and also physicians, and you need both because, under state law, the law requires that physicians certify that someone has the mental state required for involuntary civil commitment," Komatireddy told Fox News Digital. "So there's nothing like that right now in New York State. There's no office that has both law enforcement and physicians who can work together to get these people off the streets."

Greene County Sheriff Peter Kusminsky explained his deputies lack training for psychiatric crises. He added the county has nowhere to send people needing real care. Deputies are constantly pulled from patrol for mental-health calls, then left to put those in crisis into hotels because hospital beds are scarce.

"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."

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