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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 released by Platkin shows what happens next. It's over in seconds.
The city officers drive up, get out of their vehicles and approach, Robertson, who "pulled the woman closer to him and placed [her] in a headlock," the attorney general said.
Officer Omar Polanco "fired his weapon, fatally wounding [Robertson]," he said.
Officers and emergency medical personnel rendered first aid to the gunman who was pronounced dead at the scene 20 minutes later, Platkin said.
Police seized the gun he'd been carrying, the attorney general said.
It was over in seconds.
State law requires Platkin's office to investigate all deaths that occur in New Jersey “during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody," no matter what the circumstances are.
The guidelines guarantee that the investigation by the attorney general's Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) is done “in a full, impartial and transparent manner," removing politics or personal agendas.
Once the investigation is complete, the results are presented to a grand jury.
The grand jury reviews a host of evidence -- including witness interviews, body and dashcam video, and forensic and autopsy results -- to determine whether or not there was cause to suspect any wrongdoing on the part of law enforcement.
Detectives reviewed the recordings with Robertson's family on Monday before the attorney general released them publicly.
You can view them at the link below.
SEE: Robertson Jersey City Police Shooting
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