NJ AG investigating after Fort Lee police shoot woman in ‘mental health crisis’

The office of New Jersey’s Attorney General is investigating after a police officer fatally shot a woman while responding to a 911 call made by her brother, who told them she was suffering from a mental health crisis.

The woman, who has not been publicly identified by authorities, was struck once in the chest and then rushed to Englewood Hospital, where she died a short time later, officials said.

Officers with the Fort Lee Police Department at the time had been responding to a 911 call from a man who said his knife-wielding sister “was having a mental health crisis and needed to go to the hospital,” according to a statement from Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin.

A lone officer arrived on the scene, the Pinnacle apartment complex on Main Street, on Sunday around 1:30 a.m. and spoke with the caller outside.

When the officer then opened the door to the apartment, he was met by two people — seemingly the caller’s sister and another unidentified woman — who told him not to enter. When additional officers arrived on the scene, they again knocked on the door. The women continued to refuse them entry, so police “breached the door,” Platkin’s statement said.

“As the sister approached the officers in the hallway, one officer fired a single shot, striking the female in the chest,” he said.

Police said a knife was recovered on the scene, but did not provide further details regarding the confrontation.

©2024 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.