Family says Jersey City man was fatally shot by police during mental health crisis
News 12’s Amanda Lee was at the scene on the at the 200 block of Randolph Avenue.
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The family of a 52-year-old says he was fatally shot by police during a mental health episode.
News 12’s Amanda Lee was at the scene on the 200 block of Randolph Avenue.
Andrew Washington’s family tells News 12 that they called the city’s crisis center for help during an episode he was having due to bipolar disorder. They say a swat team arrived instead.
"While they’re going in, I’m saying, ‘please, please don’t shoot him, you have pellet guns, you have tasers, please don’t shoot my nephew.’ They go up, all I hear is pop, pop, pop. My cousin said it was pellet guns, so were standing here thinking its pellet guns but when he comes out, he’s got blood on him,” said Lisa Mendez, his aunt and caretaker.
Mendez says multiple family members were there to witness the incident. His family also says he was taken to Jersey City Medical Center, where the family waited hours for answers from detectives who told them he had been taken into surgery.
“How would one of the police officers feel if they did that to their family? We’re hurt, we’re hurt,” she said.
The family says a similar situation happened in 2011, when Washington was shot in the arm.
Jersey City police were at the scene since Sunday afternoon. The investigation is being conducted by the Attorney General’s Office and authorities have yet to release information about the incident.
