Relatives of people killed by police in New Jersey complain that the process of investigating those incidents is so secretive that they’re often left with no answers.

It’s an accusation the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General denies.

Victoria Lee, a classically trained cellist, was shot and killed last year by police in Fort Lee. The 25-year-old had bipolar disorder and died after her family called 911 in hopes of getting an ambulance.

A grand jury declined to indict the officers involved.

Lee's family and some advocates struggle to understand why.

“I don't know why everything should be kept secret,” says Kyung Lee, Victoria’s father.

“The public knows nothing about what the grand jury saw, or who was called to testify,” says Amber Reed, co-executive director of AAPI New Jersey, which advocates on behalf of the Asian American community. “It doesn't even sound like they called someone who should have been the star witness, Mrs. Lee, who was right there holding Victoria's hand.”

Body-worn camera footage shows officers gathered outside the Lees’ apartment, while Victoria and her mother were inside. Lee was armed with a small knife. Officers can be heard discussing which of them should draw his gun and which will be assigned to “less lethal” options. But seconds after an officer broke down the door, police fatally shot Lee, after they said Victoria tossed a plastic water jug in their direction.

That explanation does not satisfy the family’s attorney, Jae Lee, who is not a relative.

“There was an officer with a police barricade who was right at the door, ready to act. There was another officer with a taser. I mean, why even have those options if you're going to default to the most deadly option?” he says.

The lack of transparency is not unique to Victoria Lee. In 2023, a foot pursuit in Deptford led to the deaths of both Officer Robert Shisler and suspect Mitchell Negron. Shisler’s body-worn camera fell off, so the death is not captured on video.

All the Attorney General’s Office will say about the incident is that “both individuals were shot.”

That means that nearly three years after the incident, the public still doesn’t know who shot first or who fired the fatal shots.

Richard Rivera, a law enforcement analyst who also works as police director in Penns Grove, says that the level of secrecy is unacceptable.

“We should all care what happened because two people have died, two mothers have lost their sons,” Rivera says. “We should know precisely what took place.”

Kane In Your Corner requested a copy of the ballistics reports under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act. NJOAG denied the request.

When it comes to investigating deadly police encounters, not every state is as secretive as New Jersey. In New York and Connecticut, the attorney general or inspector general provides detailed reports, including evidence and witness statements.

“I would love to see that sort of transparency here,” says CJ Griffin, an attorney and open government advocate. “Give us the evidence that the grand jury reviewed so that we can see that it was presented in a fair way by the prosecutor.”

An NJOAG spokesperson denies that families are kept in the dark.

“In New Jersey, the grand jury process, by law, is not public,” he says. “But OAG has dedicated staff to work with families, providing updates on an investigation as it is happening.”

Investigations into police shootings also rarely result in charges. Kane In Your Corner finds that of nearly 50 incidents of deadly force in New Jersey in the past five years, only one led to an indictment.

“It cannot be that this many police shootings, none of them, save one or two, are sufficient for an indictment, for a criminal jury to actually hear and decide the charges,” says attorney Amelia Green, who also represents the Lees. Law enforcement analyst Brian Higgins, a retired police chief, interprets the data differently.

“I would tend to believe that it means… the officers are doing the best job they can,” he says.