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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 subsequently transferred back to a waiting NPD vehicle,” Platkin said. “Shortly after the vehicle began to drive away, an officer noticed a change in Mr. Restrepo’s condition. As a result, the vehicle stopped and Mr. Restrepo was taken out of the vehicle.
“Officers and a woman identifying herself as a nurse rendered medical aid to him before EMTs arrived. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced deceased at 1:17 p.m.”
An autopsy found that Restrepo died of “atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease,” the attorney general said.
“No alcohol or illegal drug was present in Mr. Restrepo’s body,” he added.
Despite the circumstances, state law requires the attorney general to investigate any and all deaths that occur “during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody."
The guidelines guarantee that the probe is done “in a full, impartial and transparent manner."
It doesn't matter what the circumstances are. New Jersey state law mandates a review.
Once the investigation is complete, the results are presented to a grand jury -- ordinarily consisting of 16 to 23 citizens -- that determines whether or not there's cause to suspect any wrongdoing on the part of law enforcement.
The in-custody death of Restrepo was investigated by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office with oversight from the state Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA), Platkin said.
It involved interviews of witnesses, review of video footage and autopsy results from the state Medical Examiner’s Office, which were all presented to the grand jury, the attorney general said.
The panel, in turn, concluded its deliberations on Tuesday, Sept. 13, with a “no bill” – which Platkin said meant that “no criminal charges should be filed against the officers.”
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