TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Attorney General is changing the state’s use-of-force policy after two fatal police shootings of people struggling with mental health issues.
Attorney General Matthew Platkin said this is the first policy in the state of New Jersey and that all police departments in New Jersey must work with mental health professionals when responding to a call for a barricaded person. He said this situation usually involves people experiencing an emotional crisis and is the most likely to result in injury.
The policy also requires all New Jersey police departments to train their tactical teams in crisis management and deploy them with what Platkin calls “less-lethal force,” such as Tasers and shields.
The state will also expand the “Arrive Together” program, which pairs police with mental health professionals across all departments in case they respond to calls from people in mental health crises.
Platkin said the changes will take effect as early as October.
Policy change follows fatal shootings of Andrew Washington and Victoria Lee
In 2023, Jersey City Police Officers Shot and Killed Andrew Washingtonand just last month, Fort Lee Police Shoot and Kill Victoria LeeBoth Washington and Lee had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and their families told 911 they were in the midst of a mental crisis.
Neither the Jersey City nor Fort Lee police participated in the Arrive Together program before the shooting.
“Do you think if these departments had been involved in the Arrive Together program, Victoria Lee and Andrew Washington would still be alive today?” CBS News New York’s Ali Bauman asked Platkin.
“I can’t comment on those cases. But what I can say, what we’ve learned from our experience overseeing fatal police encounters … We know that when you take a clinical and more enlightened approach, when you don’t ask law enforcement to do everything … We can save lives. We can produce better outcomes. We can create environments that are safer for the individual who is suffering and safer for the officers who are responding,” Platkin said.
The Washington Family has filed a lawsuit against the Jersey City Police Department.
Victoria Lee’s family demands accountability for fatal shooting
Lee’s family released a new statement Thursday demanding accountability for the July 28 shooting.
Ali Bouwman
