The family of a Jersey City man who was fatally shot by police last summer after his aunt called for help while he was experiencing a mental health crisis is suing local officials over what they say was his “entirely preventable” death.
Andrew Jerome Washington, 52, died after officers in tactical gear lined up outside his apartment, busted open his door, shocked him with a Taser and shot him, according to body camera footage released by the New Jersey attorney general’s office. The videos show that officers tried to talk to Washington for about a half-hour but shot him seconds after opening the door when he started moving toward them with a knife.