State to require mental health experts to accompany cops in barricade situations

Attorney General Matt Platkin on Aug. 22, 2024, expanded the state's use of force policy for police encounters with people in barricade situations. (Courtesy of the Attorney General's Office)

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin issued a new directive Thursday intended to “slow and stabilize” encounters between New Jersey police and barricaded people.

Under the new directive, police will be required to bring a mental health professional when they respond to barricaded people, wait instead of forcing their way inside, bring less lethal weapons like Tasers to such calls, and immediately involve a supervisor.

The changes come three weeks after police busted into an apartment in Fort Lee, where a woman in mental crisis was barricaded inside, and shot her to death in an encounter that has sparked protests. The family of Victoria Lee, 25, had called 911 for help and repeatedly asked that no police come or enter their home, but officers entered anyway and one shot Lee when she threw a water jug at them (police say she had a knife). Lee joins a dismal list of several people who police in New Jersey have killed in recent years in barricade situations, resulting in lawsuits and protests.

Platkin said he first directed his staff draft changes to make police encounters with barricaded people safer in March 2023, three weeks after Paterson police gunned down advocate Najee Seabrooks after he barricaded himself in a bathroom during a mental crisis. The directive announced Thursday, with changes made in consultation with mental health professionals, community members, and faith leaders, expands the state’s existing use-of-force policy.

“Encounters involving barricaded individuals are often difficult and high risk, regularly involving individuals in the midst of crisis who are armed,” Platkin said in a statement. “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, significant injuries, or death.”

Under the new directive, police responding to a barricade call must bring mental health professionals, in addition to crisis negotiators. The mental health professionals will train with law enforcement at least quarterly and be available around the clock to monitor communications with the barricaded person and offer advice and assistance to resolve the situation peacefully. It’s unclear when this change will be implemented, because Platkin noted it will take time to ensure “adequate staffing and resource availability.”

Other changes, set to take effect in October, include:

• Responding officers must wait for mental health professionals to respond, establish a perimeter, and begin communicating with the barricaded person — but not try to force a resolution “unless that would be immediately necessary to prevent injury or death.”
• In situations where police involvement poses “unreasonable risk,” officers should leave, delay contact, or return at a different time and under different circumstances. Agencies must consider using community-based crisis response teams groups to help de-escalate encounters.
• An on-duty supervisor must immediately respond to barricade situations, take command, and summon a tier 1 or tier 2 SWAT tactical team, which have more personnel and experience in hostages and barricade situations.
• Tactical teams must be equipped with less lethal weapons, such as stun guns and “impact munitions,” like bean bag or rubber projectiles.

The changes drew lukewarm praise from some still mourning Lee’s death.

The true test of their value will come in implementation, said Amber Reed, co-executive director of AAPI New Jersey.

“It’s very clear this policy is saying the best practice is not to break down the door within a minute and go in shooting. It says things like time is your ally, and talks about how to bring in mental health professionals to help the de-escalate the interaction,” Reed said. “But there was already good guidance in the use of force directive that the officers’ actions did not reflect. So how do you operationalize this? Can you do more regular audits to make sure that these policies, which are fundamentally good policies, are being complied with in the field?”

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