Fatal Police Shooting Of Fort Lee Woman In 'Crisis' Leads NJ To Announce New Rules

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — After a young Fort Lee woman was shot to death by police last month when her family called for help getting her to the hospital, the state's attorney general has announced changes in policy for police responding to "barricaded individuals."

READ MORE: Bodycam Video Of 'Horrifying' Police Shooting In Fort Lee Sparks New Outrage

Victoria Lee, 25, was shot in the early morning hours of July 28 after her brother called 911 to get help while she was having a mental health crisis. A responding police officer shot her to death. For many, the incident recalled others in which someone with a disability was killed by police when their family simply wanted help.

The recent release of body cam footage ramped up the calls for change in protocol for police responding to such an incident.

On Thursday afternoon, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced changes to the state's Use of Force Policy for police responding to "barricaded Individuals." The changes include an expansion of the "ARRIVE Together Program," which embeds mental health providers when tactical and crisis negotiation teams respond.

The revisions are "designed to increase the likelihood of peaceful resolutions to encounters between police and barricaded individuals, who are frequently in a behavioral or mental health crisis," said Platkin's office in a press release.

“Encounters involving barricaded individuals are often difficult and high risk, regularly involving individuals in the midst of crisis who are armed,” Platkin said on Thursday. “This policy represents the first statewide policy of its kind in the country, and is the result of an intensive process that involved law enforcement leaders, mental health professionals, violence intervention experts, and community stakeholders."

He added, "Our goal is to provide first-responders with the tools to slow and stabilize these standoffs, empowering officers to navigate the dangerous first minutes of these encounters, so proper resources can be deployed to intervene and resolve the situations safely without force."

Tactical and crisis negotiation teams will now be required to identify qualified mental health professionals who will be available to respond to incidents involving a barricaded individual or hostage situation.

The changes will begin to take effect in October.

The press released noted these changes:

Changes In Policy

• First-responding officers facing a barricaded situation are advised to wait for appropriate resources to respond and not attempt to force a resolution, unless that would be immediately necessary to prevent injury or death. When feasible, and when no immediate threat is present, officers should establish a perimeter and communication with the barricaded individual to assess their status, including determining whether the subject is wanted for a crime or may be in crisis.
• In certain situations, law enforcement may now consider tactical disengagement as a possible method of reaching a resolution, particularly when continued contact may result in an unreasonable risk. Tactical disengagement involves a decision to leave, delay contact, delay custody or planning to make contact at a different time and under different circumstances. The policy now directs law enforcement to consider whether community-based groups such as community crisis response teams, or mental health providers through the ARRIVE (Alternative Responses to Reduce Instances of Violence and Escalation) Together program, can be active components of a disengagement strategy.
• Law enforcement agencies will adopt policies mandating an immediate response by an on-duty supervisor to barricaded situations. That supervisor will establish incident command in order to begin determining what resources are needed and to start the process of summoning those resources, including a tactical team. Additionally, the tactical team notified must be a tier 1 or tier 2 SWAT team. Each county prosecutor is being tasked with evaluating the tactical teams in their jurisdictions to determine which, if any, meet those standards as established by the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA). According to the NTOA, tier 1 and tier 2 teams have more personnel and greater capabilities when it comes to rescuing hostages and dealing with barricaded subjects.
• Tactical teams must now be equipped with less lethal weapons, such as conducted energy devices (Tasers) and impact munitions, which are often effective in resolving incidents without the use of deadly force. Those teams will also be equipped with devices to enable the teams to maximize communication and intelligence gathering capabilities.

The state recently budgeted money to expand the ARRIVE Together program, first implemented last year.

“Law enforcement officers are often expected to be mental and behavioral health experts at times when actual experts are what is needed,” said Tiffany Wilson, director of the state's Office of Alternative and Community Responses.

READ MORE: Bodycam Video Of 'Horrifying' Police Shooting In Fort Lee Sparks New Outrage