Body cameras capture New Jersey police shooting Victoria Lee: NPR

Shortly before a police officer shot and killed 25-year-old Victoria G. Lee in Fort Lee, New Jersey, body camera footage shows a group of police officers yelling “Drop the knives!” as Lee throws a large water jug ​​at them. Then a shot rings out.

On Friday, the New Jersey Attorney General's office, which is investigating the shooting, released a Taser video, bodycam footage from four officers and two 911 recordings from July 28.

There had previously been weeks of public uproar because an emergency call requesting medical help for Lee – who, according to his family, was in a mental health crisis – resulted in a fatal outcome within minutes of the police arriving.

The shooting occurred in a New Jersey city with a large Asian-American and Korean population. On Saturday, Fort Lee police did not respond to inquiries about the employment status of the officer who fired the fatal shot, Tony Pickens Jr.

The footage and call recordings shed light on the family's repeated efforts to prevent an escalation. In a second 911 call, Lee's brother told emergency responders he wanted to withdraw his request for help because his sister was holding a switchblade. At the scene, body camera footage showed Lee's mother begging police not to come in as Lee became visibly more agitated.

Lee's family could not be reached for comment Saturday, but a statement from her attorney earlier this month said: “The pain and grief our family is experiencing is indescribable. Victoria was a bright and loving person with a promising future and her untimely death has left a void that can never be filled.”

According to Lee's family, Lee suffered from bipolar disorder, which she managed through work, travel and playing music. On the night of her death, she exhibited strange behavior, such as screaming and tossing and turning in bed, which prompted her mother to suggest Lee seek medical help. The family added that Lee had never been a violent person, even in previous periods of mental distress.

According to her, Lee was upset by the police presence. When officers arrived, they did not consult with the family about the safest course of action, but instead handled the situation aggressively.

What the recordings of the emergency calls reveal

Lee's brother made two emergency calls after 1 a.m. on July 28. In the first call, Lee's brother tells the dispatcher that his sister is having a “mental health crisis” and his family wants to take her to the hospital, according to footage that is partially faded out. The dispatcher responds that they're sending an ambulance and officers.

“Um, an ambulance will do,” he says.

“It's about psychological problems – we also have to send officers. For the safety of the ambulance,” says the dispatcher.

In a second call to 911, Lee's brother asks to cancel the call for help. The dispatcher says that calls due to mental health issues cannot be canceled and officers will be on site shortly. When asked why he wanted to cancel the call, Lee's brother replies that his sister was holding a knife in the apartment.

Lee later tells the dispatcher that the knife was a “switchblade” and that his sister had not threatened anyone with it.

What the bodycam footage shows

Pickens was the first to arrive at the apartment complex at around 1:25 a.m., according to body camera footage. Outside the apartment, Pickens asks Lee's brother, “Who has the knife?” and “Who is having a mental health crisis? Who is having a nervous breakdown?”

Lee's brother responds that it's his sister while blocking the front door. Pickens pushes Lee's brother aside, adding that someone could get hurt by Lee. When Pickens opens the door, Lee's mother responds, “Don't come in,” while holding a barking dog. Lee also tells Pickens, “Shut the damn door,” then closes the door.

Lee's brother tells Pickens that his mother is taking the dog away. But Pickens continues to knock. More officers arrive. Later, Pickens yells, “I'm going to kick the door down.”

“Go ahead and I'll stab you in the damn neck,” Lee says. “Shoot me if you want.”

“We don't want to shoot you,” another officer replies. “We want to talk to you.”

The officers then prepare a plan to break down the door. An officer says that they would normally wait, but because Lee was accompanied by another person, they had to go inside. Pickens begins banging on the door, and an officer warns the Lee family that they are breaking in.

When the door opens, Lee's mother is seen holding back Lee's left hand. Officers are heard yelling, “Drop the knife.”

Lee hurls a large plastic jug of water with her other hand and steps forward. Before she leaves the apartment, Pickens shoots Lee in the chest. She falls to the ground as her mother cries and holds Lee. Pickens and the officers pull Lee into the hallway and try to stop the bleeding with towels.

Her mother asks in Korean if Lee is OK, then tells the officers in English, “Please, please.” At one point, Lee screams, “I can't breathe.”

A small pocket knife was seen on the Taser video on the hallway floor after Lee was shot. She was later taken to Englewood Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 1:58 a.m.

Police have killed over 800 people nationwide this year

Despite years of efforts and reforms, police officers in the United States have killed more than 1,000 people each year for the past decade, according to the Mapping Police Violence project, which tracks police killings. This year alone, police officers have killed more than 800 people.

Lee's death came three months after the police killing of 40-year-old Yong Yang, who was shot multiple times during a bipolar episode in Los Angeles' Koreatown.

In late June, a police officer in upstate New York shot and killed 13-year-old Nyah Mway, a Karen refugee from Myanmar, who was holding an air rifle during a police chase. He had graduated from middle school a few days earlier.