The family of Victoria Lee, a New Jersey woman gunned down by police amidst a mental health crisis, will be allowed to view bodycam footage on Friday from the morning she was killed.
Lee, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2017, was fatally shot by a police officer in the early morning hours of July 28.
Authorities were called to an apartment in Fort Lee by her brother, Chris, who told them she was 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 obtained by NBC News. Before they reached the scene, a unit inside the Pinnacle apartment complex, Chris called 911 a second time. He was concerned for his sister’s safety, and warned police she had a small pocket knife. He also requested that they not enter the apartment.
A lone officer showed up first, around 1:30 a.m. and spoke with Lee’s brother outside, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said at the time.
When the officer then opened the door to the apartment, he was met by two people — Lee and her mother — who also told him not to enter. He waited for additional officers to reach the apartment complex, and they again knocked on the door. The women continued to refuse them entry, so police eventually “breached the door,” Platkin’s statement said.
As Lee approached police in the hall, Officer Tony Pickens Jr. fired off a single shot, fatally striking her in the chest. She was rushed to Englewood Hospital, where she died a short time later, officials said.
In a statement issued after her death, Lee’s family questioned the deadly use of force, especially given that she was not armed at the time. Their attorney, Henry Cho, told reporters she’d dropped her pocket knife before officers forced their was inside the unit.
“The police responded aggressively and forcibly entered the apartment and fatally shot Victoria, who was holding a plastic water jar at the time,” he said. “She was harmless.”
A knife was recovered at the scene, but police did not say whether officers had observed Lee holding it.
An investigation, led by the attorney general’s office, is ongoing.