Family demands justice for Victoria Lee, NJ woman fatally shot by police

NEW JERSEY - Two weeks after 25-year-old Victoria Lee was fatally shot by a Fort Lee police officer, New Jersey's largest Asian American and Pacific Islander advocacy group is demanding justice and accountability. 

"We need to know what happened that night," said Adrian Lee, President of the Korean-American Association of New Jersey. "Why a call for help ended in a tragedy."

On July 28, just before 1:30 a.m., Fort Lee police officers responded to a mental health crisis at "The Pinnacle" apartment complex, following a call from Lee’s mother and brother. 

According to Lee’s brother, she had been holding a knife, but advocates revealed Tuesday that the knife was not in her hand when she was shot.

"She dropped the knife about seven feet away from the door, but she got shot right next to the door when she was holding a water jug," said Henry Cho, the attorney representing the Lee family.

According to Cho, Lee's mother had been trying to get her daughter to the hospital, as she had experienced similar episodes in the past. When Lee became agitated upon learning that police were on their way, her mother locked the door and asked officers to wait outside, saying there was no threat to her safety.

"The officer finally kicked the door and opened the door, he saw Victoria in the apartment and saw Victoria holding a water jug and shot her right there," Cho said.

A witness from the apartment complex who spoke with FOX 5 NY the day after the shooting corroborated this account, stating, "As soon as the apartment door opened, I heard the shot—boom."

Lee's family is demanding the body camera footage of the incident be released to the public as soon as possible and are convinced her death was unjust.

"We believe they could have done it with a taser gun, but they used this lethal weapon, so we couldn't understand why it happened," Cho said.