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Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA)

Deputy Marshals Justified Shooting Machete-Wielding Murder Fugitive In Jersey City: Grand Jury Deputy Marshals Justified Shooting Machete-Wielding Murder Fugitive In Jersey City: Grand Jury
Deputy Marshals Justified Shooting Machete-Wielding Murder Fugitive In Jersey City: Grand Jury 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Two deputy U.S. Marshals were justified in shooting a fugitive murderer from Florida who came at them with a hatchet when they tracked him down in Jersey City, a New Jersey grand jury has ruled. Esteban DeJesus, Jr., 56, of Orlando was wanted for shooting and killing his 67-year-old next-door neighbor and wounding her husband the day before the deputy marshals found him. New Jersey law requires a grand jury review of all deaths that occur during or after encounters with law enforcement. State investigators had a clear-cut case involving DeJesus, who police in Orlando said attacked …
Grand Jury Backs Officer In Crash With Jersey Shore Armed Burglar That Killed Passenger Grand Jury Backs Officer In Crash With Jersey Shore Armed Burglar That Killed Passenger
Grand Jury Backs Officer In Crash With Jersey Shore Armed Burglar That Killed Passenger UPDATE: A Long Branch police officer bears no responsibility for a crash during a pursuit that killed the suspect’s passenger, a state grand jury has found. Officer Lucas Brito did nothing wrong in pursuing ex-con Altonia Williams -- who was believed to be armed – while responding to a call of a home invasion shortly before 4 a.m. last Aug. 14, the panel found. A subsequent collision killed Tracee Blount, 38, of Long Branch, who was with Williams. State law mandated the grand jury review because a death occurred in an encounter with law enforcement. The reviews are conducted no matter what…
WATCH: Video Shows Ex-Con Killed In Shootout With Police On Garden State Parkway WATCH: Video Shows Ex-Con Killed In Shootout With Police On Garden State Parkway
Watch: Video Shows Ex-Con Killed In Shootout With Police On Garden State Parkway Chilling video shows a fleeing ex-con slamming a stolen van into a Garden State Parkway guardrail, emerging through the driver’s side window and exchanging gunfire with police who shoot him dead. Kevin Harlfinger, 40, of Perth Amboy comes through the window firing after the work van smashes head-on into the end of the guardrail at Exit 131 of the southbound Parkway in Woodbridge during a high-speed police pursuit less than two months ago, a collection of videos released by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office shows. Harlfinger, in a hoodie and knit hat, begins climbing out the window an…
Ex-Con Killed In Shootout With Police On Garden State Parkway ID'd Ex-Con Killed In Shootout With Police On Garden State Parkway ID'd
Ex-Con Killed In Shootout With Police On Garden State Parkway ID'd New Jersey's top law officer on Monday identified a gunman who was killed in a shootout with Cranford police following a high-speed pursuit and crash on the Garden State Parkway in Woodbridge. Ex-con Kevin Harlfinger, a 40-year-old ex-con from Perth Amboy, was behind the wheel of a stolen white work van being pursued by Cranford officers when it crashed near Exit 131 shortly before midnight Dec. 28, according to a brief statement released on Monday, Jan. 8, by the office of Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin in Trenton. Harlfinger exchanged shots with the officers, wounding one of them, au…
UPDATE: Paterson Police Officer Indicted For Shooting Unarmed Man In Back As He Ran UPDATE: Paterson Police Officer Indicted For Shooting Unarmed Man In Back As He Ran
Update: Paterson Police Officer Indicted For Shooting Unarmed Man In Back As He Ran "Drop the gun!" a Paterson police officer shouts several times as he chases a fleeing man down a city street. Suddenly, two shots ring out and Khalif Cooper falls face down in the street. Officer Jerry Moravek, who fired the shots, handcuffs Cooper, 28, who is heard on a bodycam video telling him, "I don't got no gun." A grand jury agreed. Moravek was indicted in Trenton on criminal charges this week for shooting the unarmed Cooper, who was left paralyzed, in June 2022, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced on Thursday, Dec. 7. “Deadly force against a fleeing suspect must be u…
Gunman Killed In Confrontation With Manchester Township Police Gunman Killed In Confrontation With Manchester Township Police
Gunman Killed In Confrontation With Manchester Township Police An armed man was shot and killed by police Tuesday night in Manchester Township, authorities confirmed. The officers had responded to a 911 call on Elizabeth Avenue in the Ocean County township shortly before 8:30 p.m. Nov. 6, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. Two of them fired their service weapons, fatally wounding, the gunman after finding him nearly 45 minutes later, the attorney general said Wednesday. "A firearm was recovered near the subject," Platkin added. The man's name was being withheld, at least for the time being. State law and his own guidelines require Pla…
HERO: Jersey City Officer Justified In Gunning Down Suspect Who Shot Woman, Grand Jury Finds HERO: Jersey City Officer Justified In Gunning Down Suspect Who Shot Woman, Grand Jury Finds
Hero: Jersey City Officer Justified In Gunning Down Suspect Who Shot Woman, Grand Jury Finds UPDATE: A heroic Jersey City police officer was justified in gunning down a man who'd just deliberately shot a woman in the chest during a domestic dispute, a state-mandated review by a grand jury has found. Officers responding to a 911 call just before midnight May 24, 2022 found city resident Joseph Robertson, 59, crossing Communipaw Avenue at the corner of West Side Avenue with the female victim. Video recorded at the scene shows the officers approaching Robertson and ordering him to drop a gun he was carrying. Robertson instead grabs the woman, puts her in a headlock and points th…
ONLY IN JERSEY: Convicted Paterson Mayor Joey Torres Indicted For Trying To Run Again ONLY IN JERSEY: Convicted Paterson Mayor Joey Torres Indicted For Trying To Run Again
Only IN Jersey: Convicted Paterson Mayor Joey Torres Indicted For Trying To Run Again A court order banned ex-Paterson Mayor Joey Torres from ever running for public office again after being convicted of corruption. But he did it, anyway. Now he's in another familiar position: under indictment. A grand jury in Trenton returned an indictment on Tuesday, Sept. 26, charging Jose "Joey" Torres, 64, with criminal contempt. “It takes remarkable brashness to flout a state court order and then attempt to strong-arm the city clerk, via civil litigation, into allowing an impermissible campaign to proceed,” New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. “That is bold," the attorn…
UPDATE: New Details Emerge In Police Shooting Of Jersey City Man With Mental Health History UPDATE: New Details Emerge In Police Shooting Of Jersey City Man With Mental Health History
Update: New Details Emerge In Police Shooting Of Jersey City Man With Mental Health History One of a group of specially-trained Jersey City police officers shot and killed a knife-wielding city man after he charged at them in his apartment, authorities said. An EMS unit was the first to respond to 2:15 p.m. call at the Randolph Avenue residence in the Bergen-Lafayette section of the city on Sunday, Aug. 27, according to a release issued late Monday by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin. "Upon arrival, they requested the assistance of the Jersey City Police Department," the attorney general said. Patrol officers arrived just before 2:30 p.m. and tried to communicate with …
NJ Police Officer Justified In Shooting Driver To Stop Backhoe Rampage, Grand Jury Rules NJ Police Officer Justified In Shooting Driver To Stop Backhoe Rampage, Grand Jury Rules
NJ Police Officer Justified In Shooting Driver To Stop Backhoe Rampage, Grand Jury Rules UPDATE: A local New Jersey police sergeant was justified in shooting a man who hijacked a backhoe and went on a rampage, damaging two police vehicles, an ambulance and an occupied civilian sedan before he was finally stopped. Although authorities collected a trove of surveillance and bodycam video showing precisely what led to the death of Joshua Gonzalez, 20, of Millville, state law still required a grand jury to review the outcome. Gonzalez kept police at bay for nearly a half-hour during the video-recorded rampage in Vineland, which began around 5 a.m. on Dec. 18, 2021, on West Park Dri…
Officer Not At Fault In Death Of Pedestrian Hit By Police Car On Route 18, NJ Grand Jury Finds Officer Not At Fault In Death Of Pedestrian Hit By Police Car On Route 18, NJ Grand Jury Finds
Officer Not At Fault In Death Of Pedestrian Hit By Police Car On Route 18, NJ Grand Jury Finds UPDATE: A state grand jury has cleared an East Brunswick police officer who was responding to a crash when he struck and killed a 55-year-old Edison man as he stood on darkened Route 18 in the middle of the night. Julius Filep had gotten out of his disabled car after it struck debris scattered across the highway when a sleeping driver slammed into a utility pole on the northbound side shortly after 3:30 a.m. Aug. 1, 2021, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. A third vehicle, as well as an 18-wheel truck, drove over the debris, igniting fiery, arching electrical wires, the attor…
Authorities ID Fleeing Motorcyclist Killed In South Jersey Crash Authorities ID Fleeing Motorcyclist Killed In South Jersey Crash
Authorities ID Fleeing Motorcyclist Killed In South Jersey Crash A motorcyclist lay dead and his passenger seriously injured in the middle of a South Jersey intersection following a crash during a police chase, footage released by state authorities shows. Despite the obvious circumstances, state law and administrative guidelines require New Jersey Attorney Matthew Platkin to investigate the death of John R. Nutt, 41, of Mount Laurel in Pemberton Township that early April evening. Platkin's office released video from both the dashcam of the pursuing officer and the bodycam of a colleague who arrived from the opposite direction after the crash. Also rele…
Ex-Con Shot Dead By Police Following Killings Of Boy, 8, Man In Nearby Home Identified Ex-Con Shot Dead By Police Following Killings Of Boy, 8, Man In Nearby Home Identified
Ex-Con Shot Dead By Police Following Killings Of Boy, 8, Man In Nearby Home Identified UPDATE: A gunman shot by Newark police following the homicides of a city man and 8-year-old boy earlier this month was identified by authorities as a local ex-con with an extensive criminal record. A basic background search turned up a six-year history of arrests for Everett Rand, 29, of Newark after New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin identified him on Tuesday, May 16, as the man shot and killed by police two weeks ago. Responding to a 911 call, officers found 27-year-old Newark resident Wyleek Shaw dead and young Zahmire Lopez mortally wounded in a home on Johnson Avenue shortly …
CHILLING VIDEO: Sharp-Shooting Officer Downs Rifle-Wielding NJ Madman Who Threatened Woman CHILLING VIDEO: Sharp-Shooting Officer Downs Rifle-Wielding NJ Madman Who Threatened Woman
Chilling Video: Sharp-Shooting Officer Downs Rifle-Wielding NJ Madman Who Threatened Woman Gripping video shows an irate man with a rifle threatening to kill a female homeowner before a steady-nerved local New Jersey police officer takes him down from a distance with a single shot. The fatal encounter from earlier this year plays out in a collection of video -- including one from the hero officer's body cam and another from a surveillance camera pointed directly at the house -- that was released by state Attorney General Matthew Platkin. The video is part of a state-mandated investigation into the police-involved death of Daniel Nevius Sr., 55, of Sicklerville this past January.…
BETRAYER OF THE BADGE: NJ Officer Admits Using Authority On Duty To Pressure Women Into Sex BETRAYER OF THE BADGE: NJ Officer Admits Using Authority On Duty To Pressure Women Into Sex
Betrayer OF THE Badge: NJ Officer Admits Using Authority On Duty To Pressure Women Into Sex UPDATE: A Vernon Township police officer who was accused of groping a Bergen County woman during a domestic violence call admitted abusing his authority on duty to force women to submit to his sexual advances. Emanuel Rivera, 38, acknowledged the “imbalance of power” between him and the women he was hitting on, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Acting Sussex County Prosecutor Annmarie Taggart said in a joint statement. This left them unable to consent, he admitted, because of the “coercive, intimidating nature of such requests” coming from a uniformed police officer," the s…
Paterson Non-Violence Activist Shot Dead In Police Standoff Was Clearly In Crisis: Advocates Paterson Non-Violence Activist Shot Dead In Police Standoff Was Clearly In Crisis: Advocates
Paterson Non-Violence Activist Shot Dead In Police Standoff Was Clearly In Crisis: Advocates The shooting death of a Paterson non-violence activist following a five-hour barricaded standoff with city police has a pained, shaken and angry community demanding answers. Najee Seabrooks was pronounced dead at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson shortly after the 12:30 p.m. shooting at an apartment near the corner of Mill and Edison streets on Friday, March 3, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin confirmed. Although initial details remained sketchy, all agreed that Seabrooks was in a mental health crisis. Officers initially responded to a report of an emotionally distu…
NJ Troopers Justified In Shooting Driver From Poconos Who Shot Dog, Grand Jury Rules NJ Troopers Justified In Shooting Driver From Poconos Who Shot Dog, Grand Jury Rules
NJ Troopers Justified In Shooting Driver From Poconos Who Shot Dog, Grand Jury Rules A country music song played on the car stereo as a Pennsylvania driver who'd just crashed into a ditch off Route 80 shot his dog and was then shot and killed by two New Jersey State Police troopers. The troopers’ actions were justified, a grand jury has found. Panel members reviewed a collection of videos, among other evidence, before rendering their decision earlier this week, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said Thursday, March 2. The videos, which can be found here, show the two troopers approaching the disabled vehicle from either side on Starlite Hill Road in the Columbia…
UPDATE: Knife-Wielding Condo Visitor Shot In Encounter With Fort Lee PD, AG Confirms UPDATE: Knife-Wielding Condo Visitor Shot In Encounter With Fort Lee PD, AG Confirms
Update: Knife-Wielding Condo Visitor Shot In Encounter With Fort Lee PD, AG Confirms Fort Lee first responders were getting residents out of a townhouse where a visiting relative had been threatening them with a knife when police came face-to-face with him, authorities said. Mohamed Bounaouar, 42, of Las Vegas was pronounced dead shortly after 10:30 a.m. Feb. 4, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said on Monday, Feb. 13. New Jersey law and his office's guidelines require an investigation, no matter the circumstances, because the death occurred during an encounter with police. Residents of the Cedar Court condominium on John Street called and told police that a kni…
Newark Man Who Died While Running From Police Along Route 280 Identified Newark Man Who Died While Running From Police Along Route 280 Identified
Newark Man Who Died While Running From Police Along Route 280 Identified A Newark man who died while running from city police along Route 280 last week was identified by authorities on Wednesday. A review of the circumstances surrounding the death last Thursday, Jan. 5, of Raul L. DeJesus, 43, is required because it involved police, a Jan. 11 release from Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin's office says. According to a preliminary investigation, Newark Police Officer Alberto Vera approached DeJesus in the area of Orange Street and South 11th Street in Newark shortly before 3:42 p.m., the release says. DeJesus was wanted for questioning "in connection with a c…
WATCH: State Authorities Release Bodycam Videos Of Police Shooting Knife-Wielding Englewood Man WATCH: State Authorities Release Bodycam Videos Of Police Shooting Knife-Wielding Englewood Man
Watch: State Authorities Release Bodycam Videos Of Police Shooting Knife-Wielding Englewood Man A chilling trio of bodycam videos released by state authorities shows a fatal Labor Day encounter between Englewood police and a city man who’d just stabbed three people. Bernard Placide has a bedroom door in a West Englewood Avenue home partially open in the video when Officers Brian Havlicek and Luana Sharpe find him shortly before 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 6. “Put your hands up now or you’re gonna get shot. I’m not kidding,” Havlicek tells Placide as he and fellow Sharpe stand outside the door, their guns pointed, in the video from three police body cameras. Both of them repeatedly t…
Bad Heart Killed NJ Man, 73, While In Police Custody, Grand Jury Finds Bad Heart Killed NJ Man, 73, While In Police Custody, Grand Jury Finds
Bad Heart Killed NJ Man, 73, While In Police Custody, Grand Jury Finds Newark police bore no responsibility in the death from heart disease of a 73-year-old man who collapsed in the back seat of a patrol car, a state grand jury has found. Juan Restrepo of Summit had been taken into custody by officers who'd responded to a report of an intoxicated man behind the wheel of a vehicle on June 15, 2020, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. “He was then transported to [an] NJ TRANSIT station, where officials attempted to obtain a Breathalyzer reading,” the attorney general said. “A reading was not able to be obtained.” Restrepo “was subsequent…
Police-Involved Shooting Reported In Englewood Police-Involved Shooting Reported In Englewood
Police-Involved Shooting Reported In Englewood Police responding to a stabbing in Englewood were involved in a fatal shooting, according to multiple sources. CPR was in progress as a shooting victim was taken to Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in grave condition with a gunshot wound in the chest following the incident on West Englewood Avenue off the corner of Reade Street shortly before 8:30 a.m. Saturday, they said. He was pronounced dead at EHMC at 9:17 a.m., according to the office of Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin in Trenton. His identity was temporarily being withheld. At least two stabbing victims we…
NJ Officers Justified In Shooting PA Man Who Rushed Them With Broken Bottle, Grand Jury Finds NJ Officers Justified In Shooting PA Man Who Rushed Them With Broken Bottle, Grand Jury Finds
NJ Officers Justified In Shooting PA Man Who Rushed Them With Broken Bottle, Grand Jury Finds UPDATE: Police in South Jersey had no choice but to shoot a Pennsylvania man who rushed at them with a broken bottle, a grand jury has found. Grand jurors had crystal-clear bodycam video of officers alternately imploring and commanding Amir Johnson, 30, to drop the bottle during a late-afternoon standoff in the middle of an Atlantic County highway in August 2020. “We don't wanna do this, man. Stop! Stop!" a Ventnor police officer shouts over and over in the video. “Put it down, bro, we don’t wanna do this,” another officer yells. Johnson, of Wilkes-Barre, keeps coming, however, and is onl…
NEW DETAILS: Jersey City Man Killed By Officer Had Gun Pointed At Woman, AG Says NEW DETAILS: Jersey City Man Killed By Officer Had Gun Pointed At Woman, AG Says
NEW Details: Jersey City Man Killed By Officer Had Gun Pointed At Woman, AG Says A man had just grabbed a woman he was with and pointed a gun at her in a Jersey City crosswalk when a police officer shot and killed him, New Jersey's top cop said Monday. Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin provided new details while releasing video and audio recordings from the incident. City officers responding to a 911 domestic violence call just before midnight May 24 found Joseph Robertson, 59, of Jersey City crossing Communipaw Avenue at the corner of West Side Avenue outside the BP gas station, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. Video rel…
Man Shot By Police In Edison Identified, Was Wielding Short-Handled Ax, Attorney General Says Man Shot By Police In Edison Identified, Was Wielding Short-Handled Ax, Attorney General Says
Man Shot By Police In Edison Identified, Was Wielding Short-Handled Ax, Attorney General Says UPDATE: A man was wielding an ax when police who encountered him outside his Edison home shot and killed him, state authorities said. Merrill Rambarose, 49, was pronounced dead at the scene after two officers opened fire on Judson Street at the Margate co-op complex just off Route 1 and the Menlo Park Mall at 4:41 p.m. April 12, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. "A short-handled ax was recovered near Mr. Rambarose," the attorney general said Police had been called there a little under an hour earlier. There they "encountered Mr. Rambarose in a parking lot of the …
Grand Jury: Morris Police Sergeant Justified Shooting Man Pointing Airsoft Gun Grand Jury: Morris Police Sergeant Justified Shooting Man Pointing Airsoft Gun
Grand Jury: Morris Police Sergeant Justified Shooting Man Pointing Airsoft Gun UPDATE: A police sergeant was justified in shooting a Morris Township man who pointed an airsoft gun at him during a domestic disturbance call, a state grand jury has ruled. Timothy O’Shea, 24, was bleeding from the neck and wrists when officers responding to a 911 call found him in the driveway of his Fairchild Avenue home on July 14, 2020, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said Tuesday, April 12. Several responding officers -- from the township, Morris Plains and Morristown – had gotten the older female caller to safety when they encountered O’Shea, the attorney genera…
NJ State Police Bear No Responsibility In Driver's Fatal Medical Episode Off Rt 80: Grand Jury NJ State Police Bear No Responsibility In Driver's Fatal Medical Episode Off Rt 80: Grand Jury
NJ State Police Bear No Responsibility In Driver's Fatal Medical Episode Off Rt 80: Grand Jury New Jersey State Police bear no responsibility for the death of a diabetic Paterson driver who had a medical episode in the back of their cruiser following a traffic stop outside their barracks, a state grand jury has found. The troopers had handcuffed Sergio Rodriguez, 51, and led him to their marked SUV after finding heroin in his car during a stop outside their substation on Minnisink Road, just off Route 80 in Totowa, on June 27, 2020. Rodriguez had been using a cellphone while driving, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. Body camera footage shows a trooper aski…
CLEAN SHOOT: Passaic Sheriff's Sergeants Legally Killed Suspect Who Pulled, Pointed Gun CLEAN SHOOT: Passaic Sheriff's Sergeants Legally Killed Suspect Who Pulled, Pointed Gun
Clean Shoot: Passaic Sheriff's Sergeants Legally Killed Suspect Who Pulled, Pointed Gun A trio of Passaic County sheriff’s sergeants were justified in shooting a man who’d pulled a gun and pointed it directly at them following a foot chase in Paterson, a state grand jury has found. A gunshot detection sensor brought city police and sheriff’s officers to Park Avenue near Straight Street shortly after 1 a.m. on May 23, 2020. No victim was found, but police did recover three 9mm casings. A short time later, sheriff’s Sgts. Americo Escobar, Helman Fava and Jose Vargas spotted a large group of people gathered at Summit Street and Park Avenue. Attention there was focused on a man …
Drug Defendant, 57, Found Dead In Paterson Police Holding Cell Drug Defendant, 57, Found Dead In Paterson Police Holding Cell
Drug Defendant, 57, Found Dead In Paterson Police Holding Cell A 57-year-old Paterson woman who was arrested on crack possession charges was found dead in a city police holding cell, state authorities confirmed. The as-yet unidentified woman had been arrested last Thursday, Feb. 17, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said on Monday. "According to the preliminary investigation, emergency medical personnel were called to Paterson Police headquarters on Friday after the woman, who was lying on a bench in a holding cell, was found to be unresponsive at approximately 6 p.m. when an officer conducted a prisoner check," Platkin said. "The …
Grand Jury: Police Justified Shooting Fleeing Driver Who Pointed Gun On NJ Highway Intersection Grand Jury: Police Justified Shooting Fleeing Driver Who Pointed Gun On NJ Highway Intersection
Grand Jury: Police Justified Shooting Fleeing Driver Who Pointed Gun On NJ Highway Intersection UPDATE: Police were justified in shooting a fleeing motorist when he pointed a gun at them at a convergence of highways in Wayne, a state grand jury has found. Bradley G. Pullman, 48, of Queens is seen on dashcam video pointing the gun out of his Lexus sedan following a high-speed chase that ended at the “spaghetti bowl” intersection of Route 46, 23 and 80 near the Willowbrook Mall. The video was among the evidence reviewed by the grand jury, along with witness testimony, reports and autopsy results, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. Grand jury reviews are mandated …
AG: 9MM Handgun, Spent Casings Found Near Paterson Man Shot, Killed By City Detective AG: 9MM Handgun, Spent Casings Found Near Paterson Man Shot, Killed By City Detective
AG: 9MM Handgun, Spent Casings Found Near Paterson Man Shot, Killed By City Detective A Facebook video recorded by a civilian was included in recordings released Wednesday by the New Jersey Attorney General's Office as part of a required investigation into the fatal shooting last month of a Paterson man by a city police detective. A 9mm handgun was recovered -- along with nine 9mm shell casings -- near the body of Thelonious McKnight, 25, in a backyard alleyway off East Main Street shortly before 9 p.m. on Dec. 29, 2021, Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. It all happened in an instant. Storefront and city surveillance cameras shows a group of men hanging out and…