NYPD bodycam video of deadly Times Square shooting indicates woman expressed ‘suicide-by-cop’ intentions after stabbing rampage
The NYPD released body-worn camera footage Friday night showing the fatal police shooting of a woman in Times Square last month — footage that seemed to confirm the incident was an apparent act of “suicide-by-cop.”
By the time 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros of Queens approached officers with two knives on display Aug. 31, cops said, she had allegedly already used the weapons to kill Erin Piacenti, a 32-year-old Bank of America vice president from Chester, NJ. Piacenti was found suffering from a stab wound to her stomach outside a nearby subway entrance at West 43rd Street and Seventh Avenue and rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where she died.
Cisneros also stabbed a 68-year-old man, who survived the attack, law enforcement sources said.
Witnesses say the attacks took place completely unprovoked.
NYPD Officers Ryan Brito and Francis Gagliano encountered Cisneros further north on 7th Avenue, near the NYPD substation, at about 4:25 p.m. on Aug. 31, where she was still clutching the knives. In audible statements caught on the bodycam footage, she indicated
“Come and get me, come and get me,” Cisneros could be heard repeatedly telling the officers. “I’m tired of this world already, tired of this s#!t.”
The bodycam footage shows the two officers initially attempting to talk Cisneros down. Their guns remained holstered.
“I understand this world is f**ked up, I understand that,” Brito told her. “There is a lot to live for, Mama. This world is hard, especially in New York City. I know New York City’s hard. Trust me, we all suffer, but this is not the way.”
“This is the only way out,” Cisneros responded.
The standoff continued for several minutes in the heart of Times Square, as pedestrians continued walking past the scene, seemingly unaware of what was unfolding. At one point, a man in a suit carrying a cellphone and briefcase walked directly between the officers and Cisneros, moments after she told cops: “You are going to have to kill me.”
As the standoff wore on, additional officers arrived, and the situation escalated. At approximately 4:29 p.m., more cops surrounded Cisneros, with their Tasers drawn and pointed at her, and things turned from de-escalation to immediate escalation.
“Just breathe. Look at me. Just breathe and drop it,” Brito pleaded.
Seconds later, Cisneros began rotating her arms. Two officers fired their Tasers, but the devices designed to deliver electric shocks proved ineffective.
Cisneros then slowly charged toward the officers, pointing the knives at them, prompting Officers Joseph O’Connor and Steven Darcy to pull out their guns and open fire. Between them, they fired approximately three shots.
Cisneros was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
When eyewitness videos of the shooting began appearing online, the NYPD faced criticism over the fatal use of force. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch pushed back against that blowback in the hours following the incident.
“Officers did exactly what they were trained to do, and that was to protect themselves. [The] perpetrator, in this case a woman, is coming at them armed and waving two knives,” Tisch said.
The release of the bodycam footage comes less than a month after the shooting and amid Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s pledge to release police bodycam videos and other footage of police incidents in a more timely manner.
Help is available. If you or someone you love is expressing suicidal thoughts, call or text 988.
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