The New Jersey attorney general’s office is investigating a deadly “encounter” between cops and civilians in the state’s largest city, as is customary in the case of any fatal civilian shooting by police.
Specifically, the AG’s office of Public Integrity and Accountability is looking into what happened in Newark on Monday afternoon.
According to preliminary information, Newark police officers “encountered several civilians” near Ross Street and Evergreen Avenue just after 1 p.m. During that encounter, the AG’s office says one of the officers fired his weapon, striking two civilians. One of them was pronounced dead a short time later.
The other wounded individual is hospitalized for treatment.
No police officers were wounded, though one was briefly taken to a hospital for evaluation.
It’s not clear what prompted the gunfire. Neither the identities of the dead man nor the other civilians or officers involved in the incident are being released at this time.
The investigation is ongoing.
A 2019 law 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.
