Bodycam video of fatal New Jersey police shooting released. Lawyers say Victoria Lee was “in no way a threat to anyone.”

FORT LEE, NJ – The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office released a bodycam video on Friday showing Police shoot Victoria Lee in a Fort Lee home in July.

Her family said they called 911. when she had a medical attack on July 28Lee was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Lee's family discussed the footage with their attorney and the attorney general's office on Friday.

Bodycam video shows Fort Lee police shooting Victoria Lee

In two 911 calls before police arrive, Lee's brother tells the dispatcher that his sister is going through a mental health crisis and asks for an ambulance. The dispatcher tells him that police officers need to be sent as well. The brother then calls back and asks to cancel the call, but the dispatcher tells him that's not possible. He tells them that his sister was holding a switchblade.

The video shows at least two officers meeting Lee's brother outside the apartment.

“Who is struggling with the mental health crisis? Who is having a nervous breakdown right now?” asks an officer.

“It’s my sister,” says Lee’s brother Chris.

The apartment door opens briefly and you see Lee and her mother with a small dog inside before one of them closes the door.

Then an officer says he's going to break down the door, and someone inside is heard yelling, “Go on, I'll stab you in the damn neck. Shoot me if you want.”

“We don’t want to shoot you. We want to talk to you,” says an officer.

Eventually, at least five officers arrived at the scene.

“Who wants a less lethal method, who wants a lethal one?” asks an official.

After discussing which officers will and will not use deadly force, one of the officers says, “I'm going to break down the door, ma'am.”

The officers push the door open and can be heard screaming: “Drop the knife.”

As soon as the door opens, a black object that appears to be a cell phone falls from Lee or her mother. Lee approaches the officers with a full jug of water in her hand and Officer Tony Pickens Jr. fires a single shot that hits Lee in the chest. The officers pull her into the hallway as she bleeds and moans and render medical aid.

Lee was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

A knife was found at the scene, but it is not clear from the video if Lee was holding it when officers opened the door. Her family claims she dropped it before officers entered.

Advocates want changes in how calls about mental health issues are answered

So far, we have not heard anything from Lee's family or the Attorney General's office.

AAPI New Jersey, the Korean-American Association of New Jersey, the Korean Community Center and the MinKwon Center for Community Action released a joint statement following the release of the footage, saying in part:

“Victoria Lee should still be alive today. The footage released by the New Jersey Attorney General's Office confirms what the Lee family has already shared with the world: Within minutes, Fort Lee police shot and killed Victoria, who posed no threat to anyone, while her mother watched helplessly.”

“They did everything right. They did something that can be very difficult for Asian American families, which is to seek help from a loved one during a mental health crisis,” said Amber Reed, co-executive director of AAPI NJ.

Matthew Shapiro, deputy director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in New York State, said a mental health professional could have helped with that response.

“I think if they had taken a little more time in this situation to bring in another professional who could have communicated with her more effectively, we might have seen a better outcome,” he said.

At a press conference earlier this weekAdvocates called for fundamental changes in the treatment of mental health crises.

“Mental health crises require understanding and appropriate intervention, not violence. This tragedy underscores the urgent need to improve police training and response protocols for dealing with individuals with mental health issues,” said Adrian Lee, president of the Korean-American Association of New Jersey.

Lee's family said they were seeking justice for her death. The Attorney General's Office said the investigation was ongoing.