New Jersey police killed a man they say charged at them with a knife in Jersey City.
Andrew Jerome Washington, 52, was shot by an officer responding to an EMS call Sunday afternoon, according to PIX 11. He died in a hospital later that day.
The shooting victim suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, his family said. Washington’s aunt Lisa Mendez described him as “a funny good person” who battled mental illness for decades.
Mendez told PIX 11 Washington had been acting strangely in recent days and may have stopped taking his medication. Fearing her nephew may hurt himself, Mendez said Washington’s family called first responders.
“I don’t understand it because we called the crisis center for help,” she told PIX 11.
He’d been banging on walls and speaking loudly to himself in the days leading up to his shooting, his family said. According to police, Washington was shot Sunday when he responded to their attempts to calm him down by coming at them with a knife.
“The police should’ve done a better job,” Menendez said. “They should’ve had more compassion.”
Police were familiar with Washington, according to the Jersey City Times. One woman who said she’d spoken to police and the victim’s family told the Times the man was previously hospitalized.
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