Bodycam video released in police shooting of 25-year-old woman in Fort Lee
FORT LEE, New Jersey (WABC) -- The New Jersey Attorney General's Office on Friday released body camera footage and audio recordings of two 911 calls relating to the fatal shooting of a 25-year-old woman during an encounter with Fort Lee police officers last month.
Fort Lee Police Officer Tony Pickens, Jr. shot and killed Victoria G. Lee who was having a mental episode inside her family's apartment at The Pinnacle complex on Main Street on July 28.
The fatal police encounter remains under investigation by the AG's office, which released the recordings on Friday.
Investigators previously met with representatives of Lee's family to review the recordings.
According to the investigation, on July 28 at about 1:25 a.m., police officers from the Fort Lee Police Department responded to The Pinnacle apartment complex, after a man called 911 reporting that his sister was having a mental health crisis and requested she be taken to Valley Hospital in Paramus.
During the first call, the dispatcher informed the caller that an ambulance and police officer would be sent.
After the man indicated that "just the ambulance" would be fine, the dispatcher informed the caller that officers had to be sent for mental health calls for the safety of ambulance personnel.
In a second call to 911, the man initially requested to cancel the call.
The dispatcher stated that mental health calls could not be canceled and that officers would arrive momentarily.
The dispatcher asked the caller why he wanted to cancel the call; the man responded that his sister had a knife.
The dispatcher confirmed that the sister was still in a bedroom in the apartment, informed again that the officers would be there momentarily, and inquired whether his sister was trying to cut anyone with the knife or was just holding it.
The caller said, "She's just holding it," going on to describe that it was a "foldable" knife.
Her family says her brother had called for an ambulance, because Lee was having a manic episode, and had picked up a small pocketknife. Lee had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
However, the family says she was not being violent and had dropped the knife before officers broke down the apartment door.
Her family and community members said Lee was not a threat to anyone and are demanding accountability.
Upon arrival at the apartment, Officer Tony Pickens, Jr. spoke to the caller in the building's hallway.
Officer Pickens then opened the apartment door and observed two females: the caller's sister, identified as "Ms. Lee," and Ms. Lee's mother, who was holding a dog.
They told the officer not to come in and shut the door.
Officer Pickens stood outside knocking on the door, asking the women to open the door as additional officers arrived.
After the occupants did not comply, police-worn body camera video captures Officer Pickens speaking through the door, advising that he would have to break the door down.
Lee is heard on camera saying, "Go ahead, I'll stab you in the (expletive) neck."
After a discussion of which officers would be assigned "lethal" and "less lethal" duties, video shows the officers breaching the door.
After officers break down the door, footage shows Lee approach the officers in the hallway. Officers shout, "Drop the knife," and that's when Officer Pickens fires a single shot, striking Lee in the chest.
Officers provided immediate medical aid.
Lee was taken to Englewood Hospital, where she was pronounced dead just before 2 a.m.
A knife was recovered at the scene.
Robert Boyce, former NYPD chief of detectives and an ABC News contributor, spoke to Eyewitness News about the incident.
He says officers had to enter the apartment because someone else was inside with her and could be harmed.
"Normally barricade we wait, but there's someone in there. We need to go," Boyce said.
The Attorney General's office is investigating whether the lethal force was justified.
In the meantime, advocates say the incident has broken the community's trust in police.
"I think everyone is deeply concerned about seeking out help now and I don't know what will happen in future health emergencies," said Amber Reed of AAPI New Jersey, an advocacy group.
The family had been asking for weeks to see the body camera video. After reviewing the video on Friday, their attorney released a statement on their behalf.
"Bodycam was released this morning, and they are currently preparing a statement, which will be issued on Monday. The video is devastating, and everything aligns with the family's statement from last week," the statement said.
Lee's family claims she was not armed and was holding a plastic water jug when she was shot.
While the family is not ready to speak, community activists say police made no effort to assess or de-escalate the situation after opening the door.
"I'm absolutely gutted. I see family doing everything they can to protect their loved one that's well aware of the risks of police violence," Reed said.
"The distance between the police officer who fired and Vitoria, they never seemed close enough even for her to be any kind of threat to him," Reed said.
They are now pressing the AG's office to be thorough with its investigation.
AAPI New Jersey, Korean American Association of NJ, Korean Community Center, & MinKwon Center for Community Action also released a joint statement following the release of the body camera footage, which partially read:
"Victoria Lee should be alive today. The footage and recordings released by the NJ Attorney General's Office confirm what the Lee family has already shared with the world: that in a matter of minutes, the Fort Lee Police shot and killed Victoria, who was in no way a threat to anyone, as her mother watched helplessly. Words cannot describe our grief or anger. Victoria was killed on July 28th, and yet as of this morning, the Fort Lee community had received no assurance that the officer who killed her is not still patrolling their streets. We continue to call on the NJ Attorney General's Office to fully investigate this incident and follow all evidence. The perpetrator in this incident and all involved must be held accountable."
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