By: Najla Alexander
NJ Attorney General officials announced that a state grand jury has voted not to file any criminal charges at the conclusion of its deliberations regarding the death of Andrew Washington, 52, of Jersey City, who was fatally shot by Jersey City Police Officer Stephen Gigante on August 27, 2023.
Mr. Washington’s death was investigated by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) and presented to New Jersey residents serving on the grand jury in accordance with the Independent Prosecutor Directive of 2019, NJ AG authorities say.
In July 2021, according to NJ AG officials, OPIA issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure these grand jury presentations are conducted in a neutral, objective manner.
The investigation included a 911 call, body-worn camera footage, witness interviews, photographs, ballistics reports, and autopsy results from the medical examiner, NJ AG officials say.
NJ AG authorities stated this evidence, including video of the incident, was presented to a state grand jury. After hearing the testimony and evidence, the grand jury concluded its deliberations on April 28 and voted “no bill,” concluding no criminal charges should be filed against Officer Gigante.
According to the investigation, on Sunday, August 27, 2023, at approximately 2:36 p.m., the Jersey City Police Department arrived at an apartment building on Randolph Avenue in Jersey City in response to a 911 call from Jersey City Medical Center, reporting an emotionally disturbed person at the home. When uniformed officers arrived, they spoke with Mr. Washington’s family members outside the residence.
Family members explained that a neighbor had called them earlier in the day and reported hearing loud noises and banging coming from Mr. Washington’s apartment. Family members also advised of Mr. Washington’s mental health struggles, that they believed he was off of his medications, and that he needed to go to the hospital, NJ AG authorities say.
Family members conveyed that they had contacted a mental health crisis hotline earlier to request emergency medical services (EMS) for Mr. Washington, according to NJ AG officials. At approximately 2:42 p.m., uniformed officers and EMTs entered the apartment building and attempted to speak to Mr. Washington through the locked door of his second-floor apartment.
NJ AG officials say Mr. Washington said he did not wish to speak to EMTs, yelled, and alluded to seeing “ghosts.” At approximately 2:50 p.m., Mr. Washington began to strike his apartment door repeatedly with an unknown object.
Uniformed officers and EMTs then moved away from the immediate area of his apartment door and contacted a Sergeant, who responded to the scene. After being briefed, the Sergeant notified his supervisor and also requested that the Jersey City Police Emergency Services Unit (“ESU”) respond to the scene, NJ Attorney General officials stated.
ESU officers began to arrive at 2:57 p.m. and spoke to family members outside the residence. ESU Officer Felix DeJesus, who was involved with Mr. Washington approximately two weeks prior when he assisted Mr. Washington in going to the hospital after a mental health incident, asked family members about his status, according to NJ AG officials. Family members advised that they did not know because Mr. Washington was not willing to speak to them.
NJ AG officials say ESU officers then entered the apartment building and took over the scene from uniformed officers. Beginning at approximately 2:59 p.m., ESU Officer Steven Gigante, a trained negotiator, spoke to Mr. Washington for approximately half an hour in an attempt to persuade him to come out of the apartment and get help. Officer Gigante explained to Mr. Washington that he was not in any trouble or under arrest and that officers were there to help him and check on his well-being.
During the interaction with Officer Gigante, Mr. Washington referred to seeing ghosts and a “suicide mission.” At a certain point, he stopped responding altogether to the officer.
According to NJ AG authorities, at approximately 3:14 p.m., ESU was given approval to enter the apartment forcibly. As captured on body-worn camera footage, and later elaborated upon in officer interviews, the decision to enter the apartment was made because they had not heard from Mr. Washington for a period of time and were concerned for his well-being.
ESU officers planned to “breach and hold,” meaning that they intended to forcibly breach the apartment door and then pause and assess the situation before making entry, NJ AG officials say.
NJ Attorney General officials said that prior to breaching the door, Officer Gigante was positioned with a tactical shield at the top of the staircase directly in front of the apartment door with his service weapon drawn. Officer DeJesus was positioned on a landing outside the apartment door with his CED (Taser) drawn.
The remaining ESU officers were positioned behind Officer Gigante on the staircase, NJ AG officials stated. At 3:28 p.m., Officer Gigante forcibly breached the apartment door.
Mr. Washington was standing in the apartment, a few feet away from the doorway. Officer Gigante yelled, “He’s got a knife, drop the knife, drop the knife.” Mr. Washington advanced toward the officers with a large knife in his right hand as the door was closing. Mr. Washington opened the door, holding the knife, and continued to advance towards the officers, NJ AG officials said.
NJ AG authorities stated that at that time, Officer DeJesus deployed his Taser, striking Mr. Washington. Officer Gigante simultaneously fired his service weapon twice, striking Mr. Washington, who fell onto the landing at the top of the stairwell. Officers recovered the approximately thirteen-inch knife next to Mr. Washington.
According to NJ AG officials, emergency medical personnel, who had remained outside the residence, rendered first aid at the scene. Mr. Washington was then transported to Jersey City Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased at 4:47 p.m.
Audio recordings of a phone call to police and police radio transmissions, as well as video footage from police body-worn cameras, related to the shooting were previously released, NJ AG authorities said. The recordings are posted online.
A 2019 law, N.J.S.A. 52:17B-107(a)(2), requires the Attorney General’s Office to conduct investigations of a person’s death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody. It requires that all such investigations be presented to a grand jury to determine if the evidence supports the return of an indictment against the officer or officers involved.
According to NJ AG officials, the grand jury is instructed on the elements of the potential criminal offenses, including criminal homicide offenses, that could be brought, and, as required by statutes, the grand jury is instructed on self-defense and other forms of legal justification.
A conflicts check was conducted pursuant to the Independent Prosecutor Directive, and no actual or potential conflict of interest was found involving any individual assigned to the investigation, NJ AG officials stated.
Prior to presentation to the grand jury, the investigation was reviewed by OPIA Executive Director Drew Skinner in accordance with the policies and procedures established for these presentations in the SOPs, NJ AG officials say.
NJ AG authorities said that at the conclusion of these investigations, pursuant to the Independent Prosecutor Directive and applicable SOPs, OPIA determines whether any officer should be referred to the appropriate law enforcement agency for administrative review in accordance with the AG’s Internal Affairs Policy & Procedures.
According to NJ AG officials, OPIA monitors any resulting review and takes such actions as are necessary to ensure that the review is completed in a timely fashion and that appropriate actions are taken based on the results of the review.
The Seabrooks-Washington Community-Led Crisis Response Act and Other Reforms
In January 2024, NJ AG authorities said, Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill into law named for Mr. Washington and Najee Seabrooks, 31, of Paterson, who was also killed during an encounter with law enforcement.
The law established the Community Crisis Response Pilot Program and appropriated $12 million to support eligible grant recipients in six counties, NJ Attorney General officials said.
That funding is being overseen by the Office of Alternative and Community Responses (OACR), formally established in March 2024 by Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin.
NJ AG officials said recognizing that traditional law enforcement responses and tools — arrest, prosecution, and incarceration — alone have proven insufficient in addressing the complexities of substance use disorder and mental health emergencies, OACR was created to help ensure that public health-centered resources and programs are available to law enforcement and their partners in public safety.
Following a competitive grant process, organizations in the cities of Camden, Newark, Paterson, Trenton, and Jersey City were selected to receive grant funds of approximately $2 million each to support the creation of local Community Crisis Response Team (CCRT) Pilot Programs envisioned in the Seabrooks-Washington legislation, NJ AG officials say.
NJ AG authorities stated that the CCRTs, which include the Jersey City-based Anti-Violence Coalition of Hudson County, are intended to provide on-site community-based intervention such as outreach, de-escalation, stabilization, and resource connection for individuals who are experiencing a behavioral health crisis.
These pilots add to and complement the response options currently available through the Department of Law and Public Safety, the Department of Health, and the Department of Human Services, including ARRIVE Together, the Community-Based Violence Intervention and Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Programs, which contribute to the establishment of a statewide network for violence prevention, and the Mobile Crisis Outreach Response Team program (MCORTS), which sends a team of mental health professionals and peers to calls originating via the 988 system, accoridng to NJ AG officials.