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Kaizen Crossen, 39, had shot and killed Jason Caudle, a father of two, point-blank in the chest when responding officers confronted him in the 300 block of Myrtle Avenue on Aug. 8, 2019, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said Thursday.
Crossen, who was wearing an Army fatigue vest filled with ammunition, exchanged gunfire with the officers before shots to his shoulder and thigh brought him down, Grewal said.
He was pronounced dead at University Hospital a short time later, the attorney general said.
Video from a security camera at a nearby home showed Crossen "walking down Myrtle Avenue armed with a long rifle before returning to a detached garage behind 364-366 Myrtle Avenue and retrieving an army fatigue vest filled with ammunition," Grewal said.
"The video showed Crossen exchanging gunfire with the responding police officers for several minutes," he added.
"Crossen, visibly injured, walked down an alley in the direction of officers still armed with his rifle. After Crossen fell to the ground, he stood up again and grabbed for his rifle before collapsing, fatally injured," Grewal said.
Crossen and Caudle had been involved in a dispute earlier in the week, leading to the confrontation, the victim's mother told reporters.
Despite overwhelming and convincing evidence of a clean shoot, Attorney General's Office protocol required the police--involved shooting be investigated by Grewal Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) and presented to 16 to 23 state residents called to serve on the grand jury.In addition to the video, prosecutors presented witnesses, forensic evidence and autopsy results.
"An officer may use deadly force in New Jersey when the officer reasonably believes it is immediately necessary to protect the officer or another person from imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm," Grewal noted.
Grand jurors in Trenton agreed that's what happened in the Crossen case, he said.
Following deliberations on Tuesday, they voted a “no bill" -- meaning that a majority found the actions of the officers justified, Grewal said.
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