After Family Called Mental Health Hotline Seeking Advertised Mobile Outreach from Trained Professionals, Jersey City SWAT Cops Arrived and Murdered Black Man. Liberal Mayor Defended Cops - Suit Filed
/UNDER ARREST FOR ?? From [HERE] The family of a Jersey City man killed by city police last year has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city, Hudson County, and a local hospital, claiming the defendants’ failure to follow standard law enforcement de-escalation techniques during the man’s mental health crisis led to his death and violated his civil rights.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday morning, comes one year after police shot and killed Andrew “Drew” Washington at his home, where they were dispatched when his family members say they called a hotline seeking mental health professionals to help him.
The plaintiff, Courtnie Washington, Andrew’s sister and the administrator of his estate, alleges that her brother’s death could have been avoided and is seeking unspecified damages. She claims that established state and federal law enforcement guidelines for dealing with individuals with mental health conditions were not followed by Jersey City police officers, and also alleges that medical health professionals failed to show adequate care with Washington.
“Everything the police did was wrong. My brother was not dangerous and they knew that,” Washington told the New Jersey Monitor. “If my brother had a heart attack or he had cancer, would you act this way as police officers? No.”
The suit cites a series of events that culminated in Washington’s death on August 27, 2023.
Family members called a mental health hotline asking for the advertised mobile outreach of trained mental health professionals to help Washington, 52, who suffered from multiple mental health disabilities, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and bouts of psychosis that involved auditory hallucinations. However, the mental health team was never dispatched, according to the suit, which says officials instead sent paramedics untrained in mental health issues and a heavily armed “SWAT-like” force trained to respond to armed criminal suspects and terrorism suspects.
“In direct contradiction to basic de-escalation principles…[officers] unnecessarily treated the situation like a dangerous standoff that could only be resolved through use of force.” Drew was alone in his apartment, not suspected of any crime, and not a threat to anyone. His family had sought assistance from a mental health professional. But instead, armed with tactical gear, guns, and shields, officers taped over the peephole of Drew’s door and tied a rope around the doorknob, ignoring his requests for them to leave. Losing patience, officers decided to blow the door open—an action that predictably terrified Drew, who officers found in his apartment holding a kitchen knife. Moments later, he was shot and tased by officers. Family members waiting outside were not told that Drew had been shot and were prohibited from talking to him or going with him to the hospital, where he later died alone.
Attorney Amelia Green said the entire incident that resulted in Washington’s death didn’t have to happen. Washington was alone in his home, not at risk of harm to anyone, and had asked police to leave, Green told the New Jersey Monitor.
“The violence ensued when the police broke down his door without justification,” said Green, who is lead counsel for the plaintiff. “What the Jersey City police did was unnecessarily escalate the situation in contravention of every basic principle of policing. The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office has issued clear directives, aligned with the national standard, that when you’re dealing with individuals with mental health issues, you’re supposed to de-escalate, disengage, and ensure you’re not doing anything to create a situation where there might be the use of force. Here, the police did the exact opposite of those basic principles.”
After the shooting, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop defended the officers’ actions, telling reporters, “We do feel those police officers acted properly, we want the public to know that.” Fulop said anyone would be “hard-pressed” to say officers and medical personnel dispatched by Jersey City Medical Center “could have acted differently in this situation.”
Fulop also claimed Washington charged at officers with a knife. The complaint says Washington was holding a kitchen knife because “he was scared for his life.” Fulop is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2025.
Green categorically rejected the city’s official response, saying the actions of police officers last August were “a clear violation of New Jersey state directives that they’re required to follow.”
“The mayor should have taken accountability, because the Jersey City Police Department botched this entire incident, killing a man. Instead, he has made comments to try and cover up the misconduct in this case and justify what’s happened, even going as far as suggesting things that simply are not true,” Green said. “The city should be taking accountability for this and make sure this never happens again.”
Courtnie Washington knows she cannot get her brother back. But she believes his death doesn’t have to be in vain.
“This idea of villainizing people with mental health disabilities needs to stop,” Washington said. “Drew was pretty easy to love. He had a really beautiful heart, and he had unwavering faith. He made you feel hope after you talked to him. Drew was the reason why our family even began to talk about mental health, because we had to. I want people to know that. He was our light.”
