Father of woman fatally shot by Fort Lee police wants officers to be held accountable
FORT LEE, N.J. — Wednesday marks one month since Fort Lee Police shot and killed Victoria Lee after officers were called to her home when she was having a mental health episode.
CBS News New York's Alice Gainer spoke with Victoria's father about his daughter's life as he demands accountability for her death.
Father says Victoria Lee had never had a violent outburst
"I could not believe that until even the funeral time, still," K.Y. Lee said. "I don't believe my daughter is dead."
Lee said his daughter loved music. She composed, sang, played cello and interned at a music studio.
"'Daddy, listen to me, I made this music,'" he said.
The 25-year-old, he says, also had a diagnosis of bipolar disorder that had gotten worse.
Lee says Victoria lived with her brother and that usually she would call her mother if she wasn't feeling well, so on July 28, his wife went over to their apartment to calm Victoria down.
"She's that worried her condition become like uncontrollable," Lee said.
Her brother called 911 to ask for an ambulance since Victoria had been hospitalized in the past. The dispatcher told her brother police would be sent. He called back to try to cancel the call.
"My daughter doesn't like police to come," Lee said.
He says she picked up a foldable knife used to open packages to protest this.
"Never any violent outbursts toward any family member or anybody?" Gainer asked.
"No, no, no. Never, never until her death. Never happened. That's the first time," Lee said.
Victoria Lee's father feels officers escalated the situation
Victoria and her mother initially opened the door when police arrived, but then closed it.
In body cam video released by the New Jersey attorney general's office, an officer is seen saying, "I'm gonna break the door down."
Victoria can be heard yelling, "Go ahead, I'll stab you in the f****** neck. Shoot me if you want to."
A second officer says, "We don't want to shoot you. We wanna talk to you."
Victoria's father feels officers escalated things and could have waited to find out more about the situation.
"Mental health professionals need to be there from the very beginning ... My daughter already put down the knife because my wife persuaded her," Lee said. "She had a fear, anxiety and then anger."
Officers eventually broke down the door. Body cam video shows Victoria holding a large water jug, apparently being restrained by her mother. It's unclear from the video if the knife was in her hand. Officers fired a shot, striking her in the chest. She was taken to a local hospital, where she died.
Victoria Lee's father reacts to change in use-of-force policy
Last week, just days after the release of body cam video of Victoria's shooting, the New Jersey attorney general's office announced a change to the use-of-force policy, requiring police departments in the state to coordinate with mental health professionals, train in crisis negotiation and deploy officers with tasers and shields.
"It is welcoming, welcoming, yes, but if they had done that earlier then my daughter would be alive now," Lee said.
Lee wants the Fort Lee officers involved held accountable.
The New Jersey attorney general's office is investigating the shooting. CBS News New York reached out to Fort Lee Police to find out the status of the officers involved. They wouldn't say, instead directing us to file a request for records.
