Andrew Washington’s aunt Toni Ervin, center, speaks at a press conference held outside Jersey City’s City Hall annex on May 8, 2025. (Photo by Taylor Jung for New Jersey Monitor)
JERSEY CITY — The family of a man killed by police here in 2023 gathered with social justice advocates Thursday to condemn a grand jury’s decision last week not to criminally charge the officer responsible for his death, calling it another example of racism within the criminal justice system.
It was an outcome that left the family and advocates disappointed, but not surprised, they told reporters. They also claimed that community-led mental health response programs that were supposed to be implemented in the wake of Washington’s death have yet to receive proper funding.
Washington’s case reflects broader failures in handling mental health crises, especially in communities of color, advocates said.
“Mental illness is not met with sympathy and respect. It is met with militarized policing instead of compassion. Families like ours are left with funerals and trying to heal,” said Toni Ervin, Washington’s aunt.
Andrew Washington with his family (Courtesy of Courtnie Washington)
According to Ervin, Washington had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. He was experiencing a mental health crisis when his family called a medical hotline for assistance (they said he feared police). Law enforcement eventually responded instead of mental health professionals, the family said, and after a two-hour standoff, officers broke open Washington’s door. Washington, who had a knife in his hand, came toward the officers, and then Officer Stephen Gigante shot and killed him.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office launched an investigation into Washington’s killing, as it does with all officer-involved shootings. On April 28, a grand jury decided Gigante would not face criminal charges.
“We are even more reinvigorated than ever to get justice for Drew,” said Amelia Green, an attorney for the family.
The family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in August 2024 against the Jersey City Police Department, Jersey City Medical Center, and Hudson County, alleging they violated Washington’s constitutional rights and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Green noted that following the grand jury decision, they now expect to receive previously withheld evidence, including unreleased body camera footage of some of officers’ interactions with Washington.
Washington’s death, along with the police killing of Paterson activist Najee Seabrooks, inspired the Seabrooks-Washington Community-Led Crisis Response Act, state legislation that Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law in January 2024. The law creates a two-year pilot for community-led, non-emergency crisis response programs. Though the state has pledged $12 million for the initiative, none of the selected organizations have received their promised funding, advocates said at the press conference.
Pamela Johnson of the Anti-Violence Coalition of Hudson County, one of the grant recipients, said her organization has an office on Martin Luther King Drive in Jersey City that it cannot open because it does not have enough money.
“So how are we supposed to address individuals going through mental health issues and answer those calls from family members when they need help,” said Johnson.
Jersey City Councilman Frank Gilmore expressed frustration with city leadership, calling the handling of Washington’s case an “epic failure” and accusing city officials of not making mental health resources a priority.
“This is what happens when you dehumanize a certain segment of the population. Because the reality is, if this would have happened to someone else, somewhere else, the sympathy would have been there,” Gilmore said.
Jersey City spokesperson Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said that even with the city’s participation in Arrive Together — an initiative of the Attorney General’s Office that pairs mental health professionals with law enforcement for crisis calls — and its own investments in crisis response, situations with potential violence like the one involving Washington are still handled by police first.
“No other municipality in the state has addressed more police misconduct and terminated police officers for wrongful conduct than Jersey City. The loss of anyone’s life is tragic, and even as the grand jury found no wrongdoing by the officers, the city remains committed to improving services while ensuring public safety,” said Wallace-Scalcione.
Washington’s family has continued advocating for improved mental health support systems in Jersey City and statewide. Ervin urged people to register to vote to help elect officials who will implement change.
“We will continue to demand justice, not just for him, but for every life disrupted or ended by police violence,” Ervin said.
Dan Prochilo, a spokesman for Attorney General Matt Platkin, said the office of public integrity and accountability that Platkin oversees “conducted a thorough investigation” into Washington’s death.
“The work of the Fatal Police Encounter Unit within OPIA’s Integrity Bureau, which conducts independent investigations of any civilian death during an encounter with law enforcement as well as deaths in custody, has resulted in several indictments and a conviction of a former corrections officer, who was sentenced to a three-year prison term,” Prochilo said in an email.
As for advocates’ claim that they have not received the funding they were promised from the Seabrooks-Washington bill, Prochilo said organizations that have received approval and a fully executed contract can submit reimbursement requests.
“Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin created the Division of Violence Intervention and Victim Assistance and the Office of Alternative and Community Responses to enable our Office to work hand-in-hand with community partners in the distribution of the funds that support such programs while also adhering to our obligation to be good stewards of the public funding,” he said.
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