Newly released NYPD body camera footage shows officers pleading with the woman they say fatally stabbed a New Jersey mother in Times Square to drop two knives and “just breathe” moments before police opened fire.
Police released the video Friday, showing officers spending about four minutes trying to calm 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros outside One Times Square after she allegedly stabbed two people minutes earlier.
During the standoff, Cisneros repeatedly refused commands to surrender, told officers she was “tired of this world” and said they would have to kill her.
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“There’s a lot to live for,” one officer told Cisneros.
“The world is hard. Especially New York City,” the officer continued. “Trust me, we all suffer. But this is not the way.”
As officers continued working to build rapport, one asked whether she believed in God.
“No. Not anymore,” Cisneros replied.
Officers repeatedly assured Cisneros they wanted to help.
“We’re trying to help you,” one officer said.
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The encounter grew more tense when Cisneros told officers they would have to kill her.
“You’re going to have to kill me,” she said.
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Moments later, she added, “Either that or I’m going to kill all of you.”
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Police continued ordering Cisneros to “drop the knife” and “just breathe” as she refused to surrender.
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Around 4:29 p.m., officers deployed Tasers after Cisneros began waving both knives. When the devices failed to stop her and she advanced toward officers with the blades pointed at them, police opened fire, striking her. She was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Police recovered both knives at the scene.
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Authorities said the confrontation began minutes after Cisneros stabbed a 68-year-old man near West 41st Street and Seventh Avenue, seriously injuring him.
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She then walked north while carrying a knife in each hand before fatally stabbing 32-year-old Erin Piacenti, of Chester, New Jersey, near West 42nd Street about 20 seconds later.
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Transit officers encountered Cisneros outside One Times Square about a minute later and repeatedly ordered her to drop the knives while attempting to engage her in conversation. Additional officers soon arrived and joined the effort to de-escalate the confrontation.
Piacenti, a Bank of America executive and Fordham Law graduate, had returned to work just days earlier after spending five months on maternity leave caring for her newborn daughter. She died from her injuries. The 68-year-old man survived after suffering a stab wound to the abdomen.
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Police have described the attacks as random and unprovoked.
The NYPD said Cisneros had documented mental health-related encounters with the department in 2018 and 2019 but no prior arrest record. There was no indication the attack was related to terrorism.
The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division continues to investigate the shooting before the case is presented to the department’s Use of Force Review Board.