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Kevin Cruz, 25, of Black River, NY, was pronounced dead shortly after being struck on the westbound side of the interstate highway around 2:30 a.m. Aug. 22, 2019.
Cruz – formerly of the Bronx -- was speaking with a lieutenant and two backup officers when he ran into the roadway and was struck, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck (inset photo above) said Tuesday.
SEE: Tractor-Trailer Kills Driver Running From Police On Route 80
Despite the obvious circumstances, state law and his own guidelines require Bruck’s office to investigate 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."
A 10-step process ensures that the investigation are done “in a full, impartial and transparent manner,” he said.
Those results are presented to a grand jury -- ordinarily consisting of 16 to 23 citizens -- which determines whether or not criminal charges are in order after reviewing evidence collected by Bruck’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA).
Grand jurors in this case returned a “no bill” after determining that “the actions of the officers who encountered Mr. Cruz were not the cause of his death and no charges should be filed against them,” Bruck said Tuesday.
The attorney general noted that a “conflicts check” was conducted to assure that “no actual or potential conflict of interest was found involving any individual assigned to the investigation.”
OPIA Executive Director Thomas Eicher also reviewed the findings before they were presented to the grand jury in Trenton, he added.
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