by Kwon Haeyoung
Published 09 Aug.2024 02:54(KST)
A tragic incident occurred in New Jersey, USA, where a Korean American woman in her 20s suffering from bipolar disorder died after being shot by responding police officers, sparking controversy over police excessive force. There are growing calls for a thorough and transparent investigation by New Jersey authorities.
According to local media, the New Jersey Korean American Association, the victim’s lawyer, and announcements from the New Jersey Prosecutor’s Office on the 8th (local time), Victoria Lee (26), who lived in an apartment in Fort Lee, New Jersey, was shot and killed by a local police officer who responded to her home around 1:30 a.m. on the 28th of last month.
On the day of the incident, as Lee’s bipolar symptoms worsened, her family requested an ambulance from 911 to take her to the hospital where she usually received treatment. The 911 dispatcher informed them that police accompaniment was required according to regulations. Upon hearing that police would be dispatched, Lee refused hospital transport and held a small folding pocket knife in her hand. The family informed 911 of this fact to ensure the police would not misunderstand the situation and could respond appropriately.
Since the police arrived first without paramedics, the family, fearing the situation might worsen, did not open the door and waited for Lee to calm down. However, the police broke down the front door and entered Lee’s home, firing one shot at her. At that time, Lee was holding a large 19-liter water container instead of the knife. The bullet pierced Lee’s chest, and although she was transported to the hospital afterward, she was pronounced dead around 1:58 a.m.
The family claimed that Lee neither possessed a weapon nor threatened the responding officers, and that the police overreacted without properly assessing the situation. The New Jersey Prosecutor’s Office also announced that the knife found at the scene was collected, but Lee’s family explained that the pocket knife was on the floor, not in Lee’s hand, when the police broke in.
One week after the incident, the New Jersey Prosecutor’s Office disclosed the name of the officer who fired the shot as Tony Pickenson Jr. They stated that an investigation is underway to determine whether the police acted lawfully according to relevant laws, but detailed circumstances of the incident have not been released.
The New Jersey Korean American Association said, "This incident, where police used force first despite the family’s request for an ambulance to transport to the hospital, is a tragedy that is difficult to understand logically," and urged the state authorities to release the police body camera footage and conduct a transparent investigation.
Earlier in May, a similar incident shocked the Korean community when Yang Yong, a Korean American who requested mental health treatment in Los Angeles (LA), was fatally shot by police.
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