BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office is still investigating a traffic stop that happened in Bloomfield in November 2020 in which Bloomfield Police Department officers fired their weapons. Mayor Michael Venezia wrote in a social media post on Nov. 9 that the BPD officers were alerted about a wanted felony vehicle on Bloomfield Avenue, traveling west from Ampere Parkway.
“Officers observed the vehicle stopped in traffic on Bloomfield Avenue and Orange Street. Officers approached the vehicle on foot and pleaded with the driver to exit the locked vehicle. After a period of time, the driver accelerated the vehicle and struck a civilian car and a police vehicle before accelerating at the officers,” Venezia wrote. “Officers then fired at the driver of the vehicle, who then sped off to Orange, where the vehicle was found.”
Officers claim they opened fire, hitting the suspect in the arm, after he struck four officers in his attempt to flee.
The following day, the suspect, Jeffrey Sutton, 37, was being held in police custody at University Hospital in Newark. He was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon and eluding police. Sutton reportedly had multiple open warrants for his arrest at the time.
According to video of the incident, obtained by News 12 New Jersey from the dashcam of a civilian vehicle, Sutton does not appear to hit any of the police officers when driving away. The footage shows police surrounding the vehicle with weapons drawn, banging on the windows and trying the door handles, and even hitting the driver-side window with a baton. The vehicle then reverses, scraping the vehicle with the dashcam, and going out of sight. The sound of gunfire is heard once the vehicle in question is no longer within the camera’s range.
BPD Public Safety Director Samuel DeMaio said in an email to The Independent Press on June 25 that he could not comment on an active investigation.
“I would love to comment but I have to refer you to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office by policy,” he said. “It’s still an active investigation.”
The ECPO also declined to comment in an email to The Independent Press on June 25.
“There is an ongoing investigation,” ECPO Public Information Officer Katherine Carter said. “We cannot comment on the case until after that is completed.”
Shooting at a moving vehicle is largely prohibited in the BPD’s use-of-force guidelines.
“While any discharge of a firearm entails some risk, discharging a firearm at or from a moving vehicle entails an even greater risk of death or serious injury to innocent persons. The safety of innocent people is jeopardized when a fleeing suspect is disabled and loses control of their vehicle. There is also a substantial risk of harm to occupants of the suspect vehicle who may not be involved, or involved to a lesser extent, in the actions that necessitated the use of deadly force,” the guidelines read. “Due to this greater risk, and considering that firearms are not generally effective in bringing moving vehicles to a rapid halt, officers shall not fire from a moving vehicle or at the driver or occupant of a moving vehicle unless they reasonably believe: There exists an imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm to themselves or another person; and no other means are available at that time to avert or eliminate the danger. Officers shall not fire a weapon solely to disable moving vehicles.”
Investigation continues regarding BPD shooting added by Amanda Valentovic on
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