44°
Bystanders looked on in horror as Luan Agolli, 42, of Pequannock lifted the gun several times, refusing to drop it, before police shot and killed him as he paced the intersection of Carroll and Harrison streets on April 23, 2020.
Video obtained by Daily Voice also captured the fatal confrontation.
Agolli held the weapon with both hands and pointed it at the converging officers several times.
"I'm giving him all these opportunities," an officer says in another video taken from the street.
"This m*therf*ck*r got a death wish," says one of several witnesses who either stopped their cars or came running to record the confrontation.
"They got all right to shoot him -- he ain't putting the gun down," another is heard saying.
Officers advance from cover behind vehicles toward Agolli on three sides as witnesses shout.
"Hey, yo, kill that [expletive]!" one yells. "Light his ass up!"
Moments later, Agolli crosses the intersection.
Standing against a utility pole, he raises and points his weapon a final time at an officer barely 50 feet from him.
A burst of gunfire from police follows.
The gun falls from his hand and Agolli crumples at the corner.
"He wouldn't f**kin' put that sh*t down," ones of the witnesses is heard saying.
An Advanced Life Support Unit was summoned, but Agolli succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
No police were injured.
Despite the circumstances, both state law and his own guidelines require Bruck 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 investigations are done “in a full, impartial and transparent manner."
Once the investigations are completed, the results are presented to a grand jury -- ordinarily consisting of 16 to 23 citizens -- which determines whether or not criminal charges are in order.
Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said interviews of witnesses, collection of forensic evidence, review of video footage and a medical examiner's autopsy results were presented to the grand jury.
The panel concluded its deliberations on Tuesday, finding that "the actions of the officers who shot [Agolli] were justified and no charges should be filed against them," Bruck said.
"For several minutes, Agolli ignored repeated commands from the officers to drop his weapon and, instead, continued to walk in and out of the intersection, holding the gun in his hand and, at times, raising it and pointing it in the direction of the officers," the attorney general said Wednesday.
"During the standoff, Officers Guillermo Galvan, Jorge Garcia, Jimmy Maldonado and Maribel Seabrooks fired at Mr. Agolli, fatally wounding him," Bruck said. "Emergency medical personnel responded and Mr. Agolli was pronounced dead at the scene."
Click here to follow Daily Voice Paterson and receive free news updates.
