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Bradley G. Pullman, 48, of Queens made an illegal U-turn over the Route 46 median in Mountain Lanes around 4:30 p.m. April 26, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said Tuesday.
An officer activated his lights and sirens and tried to stop the Lexus, but Pullman -- who records show had arrests for robbery in New York City and drunk driving in Ulster, NY -- kept going east on the highway, Grewal said.
Police from Fairfield and Wayne joined the Mountain Lakes officer in the chase, the attorney general said.
Grewal released video from the various officers’ dashcams Tuesday that showed what happened leading up to and including the fateful moments that followed.
The Lexus was “traveling in a dangerous manner at high rates of speed and [was] involved in multiple motor vehicle infractions while failing to stop for the marked police vehicles,” he said.
Speeds during the eastbound chase reportedly reached up to 100 miles an hour.
Exactly 13 minutes after the pursuit began, Pullman stopped the car at the “spaghetti bowl” where Routes 46, 23 and 80 meet in Wayne near the Willowbrook Mall.
Video footage shows that “the driver’s side door of the Lexus immediately opened and Mr. Pullman began to exit with what appeared to be a handgun visible in his hand, leveled and pointed out from the car,” Grewal said.
“The gun was pointed in the direction of an occupied Mountain Lakes police vehicle,” he said. “Four police officers began firing their weapons, fatally wounding him."
Grewal identified the four as Fairfield Police Sgt. Frank Tracey and Officers James Ciampi and Kevin Chen and Wayne Police Lt. Robert Franco.
The officers pulled Pullman from the car to provide aid but didn’t find a pulse, the attorney general said.
EMS pronounced Pullman dead at the scene at 5:01 p.m., a little over a half-hour after the chase began.
“A loaded Cobra .380-caliber pistol was recovered from Pullman’s car near the driver’s seat,” Grewal said.
The videos are contained in 11 files posted online: CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEOS.
They were shown to his family on Monday, the attorney general said.
The state Integrity Bureau within the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability and the New Jersey State Police Homicide Unit were investigating the incident, which is standard practice when a death occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer.
Grewal said he released the recordings during the ongoing investigation under a directive that he issued last year that requires doing so when requested in a use-of-force law enforcement incident "once the initial phase of the investigation is substantially complete."
“Under state law and the Independent Prosecutor Directive, when the entire investigation is complete, the case will be presented to a grand jury, typically consisting of 16 to 23 citizens, to make the ultimate decision regarding whether criminal charges will be filed,” he said.
It remained unclear Monday when that might be.
The state Administrative Office of the Courts has temporarily suspended the convening of grand juries due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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ALSO SEE: A New Jersey State Police sergeant who first used pepper spray to try and stop a Poughkeepsie man who assaulted him on a shoulder of the Garden State Parkway finally shot him to subdue him, authorities on Monday said dash cam video shows.
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