They provided few details, however, citing an ongoing investigation of the incident.
Police were arresting someone else on a gun possession charge on Garrison Street on the city’s west side shortly before 3:30 a.m. when they heard gunshots, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said.
“Upon responding to the location of the gunshots, a Paterson [o]fficer encountered an individual,” Valdes said in a brief release.
“During the course of that encounter, the Paterson [o]fficer discharged his service issued firearm, striking the individual,” she added.
That person was taken to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center for treatment, the prosecutor said.
At this point, the matter remained with Valdes and her office. The state Attorney General’s Office ordinarily gets immediately involved when a civilian dies in a police encounter.
However, Valdes said she activated her Shooting Response Team of detectives after the state designated her office as the lead investigating agency of the officer’s use of deadly force.
No further details were immediately available “so as not to jeopardize the investigation in progress,” the prosecutor said.
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