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YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: Malik Williams advanced on two officers with a claw hammer and saw, cursing them and not stopping, when they shot him dead last December in a Garfield garage where he’d been hiding, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli revealed in a blow-by-blow account this afternoon, after a county grand jury cleared both. READ MORE….
“It hasn’t hit me yet. Everything is surreal,” one of the officers told CLIFFVIEW PILOT, while awaiting official confirmation of the no-bill. Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli issued the following statement today at 1:30:
The Grand Jury today returned a “No Bill” on the presentation made before it regarding the shooting death of Malik Williams in Garfield, NJ on December 10, 2011. Our office will release a statement later today outlining certain details of the investigation. As proceedings before a Grand Jury must, by law, remain secret, no details of that which transpired before the Grand Jury will be divulged.
“This tragic incident has affected many lives, including the family of Malik Williams, the Garfield Police Department and the community,” added Garfield Police Chief Kevin Amos. “Any loss of life is considered a tragedy.
“As the Grand Jury process has concluded, we will continue to provide the best service possible to our community.”
CLIFFVIEW PILOT SCOOP (8:24 p.m.): Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli was whisked by detectives from the county administration building in Hackensack tonight after a group of protestors angry about the exonerations earlier today of two police officers in a fatal Garfield shooting disrupted a meeting about consolidating police services in the county. READ MORE….
As CLIFFVIEW PILOT first reported, Williams, 19, turned himself in to Garfield police on Dec. 10 in response to a warrant for his arrest on aggravated assault charges in connection with a fight he had with his girlfriend.
While they were processing him, Williams bolted, Molinelli said.
Several officers chased him north along the railroad tracks near police headquarters. A Bergen County Police K-9 unit was summoned.
As CLIFFVIEW PILOT first reported exclusively, the police dog tracked Williams directly to a private residential garage on Dahnerts Park Lane.
The two officers found the side door barricaded shut, so they tried the bay door. It opened and the officers confronted Williams, who Molinelli said had armed himself with tools gathered from the garage. The official report describes one as a “blunt object” and another as a “knife/cutting object.”
Williams was shot several times and was later pronounced dead at Hackensack University Medical Center.
Several protests have been held in Garfield and at the Bergen County courthouse by those who insisted the investigation move faster. The protestors have insisted that authorities provide answers, despite the fact that laws governing the grand jury process carry with them sanctions if anyone breaches those restrictions.Bergen County Police Chief Brian Higgins issued a statement to CLIFFVIEW PILOT at 12:30 today:
“I believe I speak for every member of the Bergen County Police Department in expressing gratitude that a Grand Jury investigating the most unfortunate incident in Garfield has determined that the officers in question acted appropriately when confronted by the dangerous situation which caused them to fear for their lives.
“The Grand Jury’s findings, after a lengthy and comprehensive investigation, mirrors our own internal review,” Higgins said. “Although the use of force was justified it is nonetheless regrettable that these officers were forced to take such action to protect their own lives and preserve public safety.
“On behalf of the men and women of the Bergen County Police Department I extend to the Williams family our deepest sympathies. We regret not only the loss of life but also the impact this incident has had on so many lives.”
“The tragedy which occurred in Garfield underscores the risks that police and other public safety personnel face every day,” Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan added. “And when they are confronted by threats to their personal or public safety they frequently must react within seconds or risk the loss of their own or other innocent lives.
“Unfortunately, we do not have the benefit of revisiting history. There’s no instant replay,” she said.
However, Donovan said: “I support the action taken by the officers in Garfield and am not surprised that the Grand Jury investigating this incident determined that they acted appropriately.
“My sympathies go out to all, to the families of the officers who have lived through this tragedy for months and to the family of Mr. Williams,” she said.
Community activist Richard Rivera issued his own statement:
“It is insulting to the community and to the family of Malik Williams to learn about the grand jury decision from news reporters,” he said.
Rivera said the prosecutor’s “approach on this sensitive issue is reckless and the timing of its release is suspect” following publication first by CLIFFVIEW PILOT and then today by The Village Voice, of a sex scandal involving the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police Department:
Village Voice drops bombshell in Palisades Parkway Police sex tale
Rivera added that Molinelli’s “continual refusal to address the broken police internal affairs system in Bergen County is not fair to police officers or the general public.
“We respect the decision of independent grand jurors in the Malik Williams case but wonder what kind of effort was brought forth by the bergen county prosecutor.”
The 5-foot-10, 150-pound Williams had been arrested three times in two years in Bergen County, once for resisting arrest and eluding and two more times for aggravated assault — including an incident in May last year for which he had to post $25,000 bail, public records show.The grand jury investigation included evidence collected by the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department, statements taken by Molinelli’s detective and an autopsy conducted by the Medical Examiner’s Office.
“I know it was a clean shoot,” one of the officers
told CLIFFVIEW PILOT at 12:15 this afternoon. “We were both there. We know what happened. But all these article and protests weigh on you.“I’m still waiting for official word,” said the officer, who testified before the grand jury last week. “But I’ve already received several calls, including yours, about the no-bill.”
[NOTE: CLIFFVIEW PILOT is keeping a promise not to identify the officers, who both have families, as per editorial policy.]Activist in Garfield shooting gets court order for Bergen prosecutor to defend withholding names in police-force cases
Friday, 08 June 2012 10:02 Jerry DeMarco
YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: An activist representing a Garfield man killed while resisting arrest has obtained a judge’s order that the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office explain in court why it won’t provide the names of recent subjects of police force, excluding juveniles.
Urgent message from Garfield PBA Local #46
Tuesday, 22 May 2012 21:24 Jerry DeMarcoA POLICE UNION WRITES: In response to a recent newspaper article, we must clarify a misunderstanding. It has been questioned why Sgt. Jose A. Brito was permitted to work outside of his assigned administrative duty following the tragic events of Dec. 10, 2011.
Garfield teen wasn’t shot in back, prosecutor says
Thursday, 08 March 2012 15:46 Jerry DeMarcoYOU READ IT HERE FIRST: Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli took the unusual step this afternoon of announcing that a man killed in a police shooting wasn’t shot in the back, and that one bullet wound, not two, was found.
Because a grand jury investigation into the shooting is under way – as is required under state law – Molinelli said he had to be extremely circumspect.
Prosecutor warned activist against trespassing prior to arrests
Friday, 20 January 2012 16:12 Jerry DeMarcoEXCLUSIVE: Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said he warned a community activist demanding answers in the shooting death of a Garfield teen in writing that he risked arrest if he came to county offices unannounced and refused to leave — which is what happened earlier today. CLIFFVIEW PILOT has obtained a copy of the warning letter sent by the prosecutor:
Prosecutor: Escaped inmate armed with tools when police shot him
Sunday, 11 December 2011 16:39 Jerry DeMarcoYOU READ IT HERE FIRST: Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli this afternoon confirmed a CLIFFVIEW PILOT report from last night that 19-year-old Malik Williams of Garfield was hiding in a garage after escaping from police custody and charged two officers with tools from inside when they shot him dead late yesterday afternoon.
Escaped prisoner shot dead by police
Saturday, 10 December 2011 18:18 Jerry DeMarcoONLY ON CLIFFVIEW PILOT: A 19-year-old escaped prisoner, was shot dead by police as he swung a pair of tools at them in a Garfield garage where he had barricaded himself, a law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the incident told CLIFFVIEW PILOT. Several sources in Garfield identified him as Malik Williams. “He was being processed for a domestic incident when he escaped,” another law enforcement official told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.
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