NEWARK, NJ — The N.J. Attorney General’s Office is investigating a police encounter during which a civilian died on Thursday, Jan. 5, in Newark, according to a Jan. 6 press release. The identity of the decedent is not being released at this time.
According to the preliminary investigation, Newark police officers pursued an individual on foot in connection with a criminal investigation. During the pursuit, the individual collapsed on an embankment along Route 280 westbound, in the area of mile marker 12.8. He was transported to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:41 p.m.
A 2019 law, P.L. 2019, c. 1, 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.
The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.
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