Family of N.J. woman killed by police plan to review body camera video
The family of a 25-year-old New Jersey woman who was fatally shot by a police officer in her apartment last month will on Friday review body camera video from the morning she was killed.
The family of a 25-year-old New Jersey woman who was fatally shot by a police officer in her apartment last month will on Friday review body camera video from the morning she was killed.
Victoria Lee was fatally shot in the chest on July 28 by a police officer responding to a mental health crisis call at her home in Fort Lee, across the Hudson River from New York. Her family has said that the killing occurred despite her brother twice calling 911 to request an ambulance to take Lee to the hospital and giving a dispatcher details about her mental state out of concern that police might unnecessarily escalate the situation. Lee was unarmed — holding only a plastic water jug — when she was shot, her family said in a statement.
“However, the unnecessarily aggressive approach taken by the police led to the tragic and devastating death of Victoria Lee,” they said.
Attorney Henry Sukjin Cho speaks at a news conference Tuesday in response to the fatal shooting of Victoria G. Lee.Anne-Marie Caruso / USA Today NetworkLee was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2017, her family said. Though it led her to withdraw early from college, they said she had been managing her condition through various activities including work, travel and music.
Before her family called for help, she had been experiencing a “mentally unstable” period, exhibiting “odd behavior like rolling on the bed, briefly shouting twice, and lightly tapping her head against the wall,” her family said in a statement. The family had previously called the emergency line for mental assistance when Lee had similar episodes, they said.
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