N.J. Attorney General identifies man killed by police officer in Jersey City
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office is investigating the Aug. 27 death of a 52-year-old man in Jersey City. Andrew Washington died after being shot by a police officer in the late afternoon Sunday.
According to the preliminary investigation, emergency medical services responded to Washington’s apartment on Randolph Avenue shortly after 2:15 p.m. and then requested the assistance of the Jersey City Police Department. At about 2:29 p.m., officers arrived and attempted to communicate with Washington. He refused to open his apartment door and remained inside. Officers unsuccessfully attempted to establish a line of communication with Washington. They then requested the Jersey City Emergency Services Unit.
At about 2:56 p.m., Jersey City Police Emergency Services Unit officers arrived on the scene. Officers attempted to communicate with Washington through the closed apartment door for more than thirty minutes, according to the Attorney General’s office.
Emergency Services Unit members forced open the door to Washington’s apartment at about 3:28 p.m. Washington immediately advanced toward the officers in the hallway, according to the Attorney General’s office. Emergency Services Unit Officer Felix DeJesus used a stun gun on Washington. Emergency Services Unit Officer Stephen Gigante then shot Washington twice.
Police recovered a knife near Washington, according to the Attorney General’s office. Washington was treated by EMS and was transported to the Jersey City Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 4:47 p.m.
Krystal Knapp is the founder of The Jersey Vindicator and the hyperlocal news website Planet Princeton. Previously she was a reporter at The Trenton Times for a decade. Prior to becoming a journalist she worked for Centurion, a Princeton-based nonprofit that works to free the innocent from prison. A graduate of Smith College, she earned her master's of divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and her master's certificate in entrepreneurial journalism from The Craig Newmark School of Journalism at CUNY.
