This article was reported by NJ Urban News, a nonprofit publishing partner of NJ Spotlight News.
The family of Victoria Lee filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Fort Lee and its police department, alleging that officers used excessive force and unlawfully broke down her apartment door before shooting her.
The incident, which started around 1:15 a.m. on July 28, 2024, began when Lee’s brother called 911 for an ambulance to assist with her mental health emergency. The brother told the dispatcher he did not want police to come, and he was told law enforcement would be sent, according to publicly released phone recordings. Minutes after officers arrived, Officer Tony Pickens Jr. shot and killed Lee, 25. A grand jury last year declined to file criminal charges against him.
In a news release, Lee’s mother said they did what “any family member would do”: They called 911 to get her help. The “price of asking for help during a mental health episode should not be a death sentence,” according to the 61-page complaint,
“Victoria was a thoughtful, kind, and hard-working young woman who cared deeply for her friends and family. She was the light of our lives, and she was wrongfully taken from us. We are pursuing this civil rights suit to demand full accountability and to ensure that no other family has to endure this unimaginable pain,” said Kyungyong Lee, father of Victoria Lee.
Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich and Police Chief Matthew Hintze could not be immediately reached for comment. On the one-year anniversary of Lee’s death, Sokolich told NorthJersey.com that “There are many people who have been profoundly impacted as a result of what happened on July 28th.”
“I’m talking about family members of Victoria Lee. I’m talking about Officer Pickens. I’m talking about his family. I just think people need to understand that there are many families that are impacted by this,” Sokolich said.
‘Who’s the problem?’
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. It alleges 14 counts, including excessive force and warrantless entry under federal civil rights law; discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act; and state claims of wrongful death, assault, battery and negligence. Named defendants are Pickens, four other officers and the borough. The plaintiffs seek a jury trial and compensatory and punitive damages.
Lee was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The complaint alleges that officers were aware she was no threat. The lawsuit states that she was holding a small knife. Her brother told the 911 dispatcher that she was was having a “mental crisis,” holding the object and not “threatening” anyone.
At the scene, officers said, “Who wants to go less lethal, who wants to go lethal?” according to body-worn camera video. Pickens opted for “lethal.”
Pickens says to Lee’s brother, “Who’s dealing with the mental health crisis? Who’s having the nervous breakdown right now?” and “Who’s the problem, your sister or you?” Victoria Lee says, “Shoot me if you want to,” to which an officer replied, “We don’t want to shoot you. We want to help you,” according to the complaint.
When Pickens broke down the apartment door, the complaint alleges, Lee’s mother “was gripping Victoria’s left wrist,” restraining any use of the knife. Lee held a plastic water jug in her other hand. Officers shouted for her to drop the knife, and when she stepped forward, Pickens shot her in the chest.
Two fatal shootings
The encounter lasted three minutes. Lee’s family claims that officers abandoned de-escalation techniques and voiced their fear that police would kill her. At the time of Lee’s death, the borough was in the process of implementing Arrive Together, a state crisis response program that pairs mental health professionals and police on certain emergency calls. The program was begun the next year in Fort Lee.
In January 2024, then-Gov. Phil Murphy signed the Seabrooks-Washington Community-Led Crisis Response Act after the 2023 fatal police shootings of Najee Seabrooks and Andrew Washington while they were experiencing mental health crises.
The law created a community crisis response pilot program and set aside $12 million for six counties: Camden, Essex, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex and Passaic. Bergen County, where Fort Lee is located, was not among them.
“Individuals experiencing a mental health episode or crisis deserve to access services without the threat of violence, and their families should be able to call for help without the fear that such a call will end in their loved one’s death at the hands of police,” said Amelia Green, a partner with Neufeld Scheck Brustin Hoffmann & Freudenberger, the firm representing Lee’s family. Attorneys there are also representing Washington’s family in a similar suit.
