Fort Lee community calls for transparency in Victoria Lee death investigation
FORT LEE, N.J. — It's been more than two months since Victoria Lee was shot and killed by Fort Lee Police officers in New Jersey.
In the early morning hours of July 28, officers responded to Lee's apartment after a 911 call from her brother that she was having a mental health crisis and had a knife.
Body camera footage shows the officers talking to her through the door, then eventually breaking it down. The video shows Lee apparently moving toward the officers holding a large water jug; it's unclear if she was holding a knife. An officer fired a shot, striking her in the chest. She was taken to a local hospital, where she died.
Since her death, her loved ones have been pleading for transparency and justice. CBS News New York's Nick Caloway is working to help get the community some answers.
Korean-American community calls for transparency in Victoria Lee death investigation
Members of the Korean-American community – including Victoria's father, K.Y. Lee – gathered in front of the Fort Lee borough hall Wednesday. They're asking for transparency in the investigation of the death of Lee.
"We've been waiting [for] a kind of reaction, kind of an apology or some reaction from the police department, the administration. But so far, there is no reaction from the public sector," said James Kwang Kim, president of the Korean American Organization of Greater New York.
"All my family, you know, was inundated by sadness, sorrow," K.Y. Lee said.
He says police briefly interviewed relatives who witnessed the shooting but thinks a more thorough interview should be completed.
"I hope and I believe that they're going to do a thorough investigation of the case. But still, what I want is: just call us again. Let us have another chance to tell what happened from our side," Lee said.
CBS News New York requested information on the status of the officers involved, but the prosecutor's office referred us to the attorney general's office who referred us to the local police department. The Fort Lee Police Department said they can't comment on the matter and asked us to formally request the information, but that request was later denied.
The New Jersey attorney general's office is investigating the shooting.
Members of the Korean-American community say that officer should be off the force and prosecuted.
