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Police & Fire
UPDATE: Paterson Police Officer Indicted For Shooting Unarmed Man In Back As He Ran UPDATE: Paterson Police Officer Indicted For Shooting Unarmed Man In Back As He Ran
Update: Paterson Police Officer Indicted For Shooting Unarmed Man In Back As He Ran "Drop the gun!" a Paterson police officer shouts several times as he chases a fleeing man down a city street. Suddenly, two shots ring out and Khalif Cooper falls face down in the street. Officer Jerry Moravek, who fired the shots, handcuffs Cooper, 28, who is heard on a bodycam video telling him, "I don't got no gun." A grand jury agreed. Moravek was indicted in Trenton on criminal charges this week for shooting the unarmed Cooper, who was left paralyzed, in June 2022, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced on Thursday, Dec. 7. “Deadly force against a fleeing suspect must be u…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Gunman Killed In Confrontation With Manchester Township Police Gunman Killed In Confrontation With Manchester Township Police
Gunman Killed In Confrontation With Manchester Township Police An armed man was shot and killed by police Tuesday night in Manchester Township, authorities confirmed. The officers had responded to a 911 call on Elizabeth Avenue in the Ocean County township shortly before 8:30 p.m. Nov. 6, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. Two of them fired their service weapons, fatally wounding, the gunman after finding him nearly 45 minutes later, the attorney general said Wednesday. "A firearm was recovered near the subject," Platkin added. The man's name was being withheld, at least for the time being. State law and his own guidelines require Pla…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Pedestrian Struck, Killed By Police Vehicle In South Jersey ID'd Pedestrian Struck, Killed By Police Vehicle In South Jersey ID'd
Pedestrian Struck, Killed By Police Vehicle In South Jersey ID'd Authorities identified a man who was struck and killed by a police car in South Jersey before dawn on Thanksgiving as a 44-year-old resident of Berlin. Christofe “Christopher” Wita was hit on the White Horse Pike (Route 30) near Whispering Pine Drive in the Atco section of Camden County's Waterford Township at 2:19 a.m. Nov. 23, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said.  Wita was pronounced dead at the scene, Platkin said. Driving was Sgt. Richard Sbarra of the Waterford Township Police Department, who was on duty, he said.  State law and his own guidelines req…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
State Slams Paterson Handyman Who Refused To Serve Jewish Clients State Slams Paterson Handyman Who Refused To Serve Jewish Clients
State Slams Paterson Handyman Who Refused To Serve Jewish Clients A handyman from Paterson was ordered to immediately stop refusing to serve Jews and take several remedial steps or face serious charges, state authorities in Trenton said on Thursday. Melquisedec Francis must satisfy eight specific demands to keep from being prosecuted, including announcing that he no longer discriminates against Jewish customers, attending training on anti-Semitism and paying a fine, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said on Nov. 30. In advertisements on TaskRabbit and elsewhere last month, Francis wrote: "I am expressing my solidarity with the Palestinian Peopl…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Dollar General Dinged $1.2 Million For NJ Pricing Violations: State AG Dollar General Dinged $1.2 Million For NJ Pricing Violations: State AG
Dollar General Dinged $1.2 Million For NJ Pricing Violations: State AG Did the item at Dollar General not actually cost $1? The discount retailer chain was forced to pay a fine of $1.2 million after repeatedly engaging in merchandise pricing violations at several stores throughout New Jersey, Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. Dollar General sold a variety of merchandise that scanned at the register for higher prices than were posted where the merchandise was displayed for sale, Platkin said.  New Jersey's Office of Weights and Measures visited 58 stores between November 2022 and February 2023, and found more than 2,000 instances  in which the p…

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by Sam Barron
Police & Fire
Man Struck, Killed By Police Car On South Jersey Highway: NJ AG Man Struck, Killed By Police Car On South Jersey Highway: NJ AG
Man Struck, Killed By Police Car On South Jersey Highway: NJ AG A man was struck and killed by a police car in South Jersey before dawn on Thanksgiving, authorities said. New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin's office initially withheld the names of the victim and of the officer driving the vehicle following the crash on the White Horse Pike (Route 30) near Whispering Pine Drive in the Atco section of Camden County's Waterford Township at 2:19 a.m. Nov. 23. State law and his own guidelines require the attorney general to review any and all deaths that occur “during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capac…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Paterson Detective Justified In Shooting Armed Carjacker, Grand Jury Rules Paterson Detective Justified In Shooting Armed Carjacker, Grand Jury Rules
Paterson Detective Justified In Shooting Armed Carjacker, Grand Jury Rules UPDATE: A plainclothes Paterson police detective was justified in shooting a man who’d just crashed his car into two others, then tried to carjack multiple drivers, a state grand jury has found. Hui Zhang, 33, of Pensacola, FL, was seen in area surveillance video crashing his car into two others that were stopped at the corner of Straight and Van Houten streets late on the afternoon of Oct. 10, 2022. Zhang fled the scene, leaving his car behind, then threatened a group of people who were sitting in a car parked around the corner with what looked like a gun. Zhang fired the weapon, then tri…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Man Arrested For DUI Suffers Medical Episode, Dies In Bathroom Of NJ State Police Station Man Arrested For DUI Suffers Medical Episode, Dies In Bathroom Of NJ State Police Station
Man Arrested For DUI Suffers Medical Episode, Dies In Bathroom Of NJ State Police Station A driver who'd just been released following his arrest for being under the influence was found dead in a restroom at a New Jersey State Police barracks off Route 295, authorities said. Because the death of the as-yet unidentified defendant followed an encounter with law enforcement, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin's staff is required to review it under state law. According to preliminary findings, the man was arrested by state troopers and brought to the Bellmawr station in Camden County following a motor vehicle accident at an undisclosed location shortly after 11 p.m…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Asbury Park PD Not Responsible For Death Of Attempted Murder Suspect, Teen In Crash: Grand Jury Asbury Park PD Not Responsible For Death Of Attempted Murder Suspect, Teen In Crash: Grand Jury
Asbury Park PD Not Responsible For Death Of Attempted Murder Suspect, Teen In Crash: Grand Jury UPDATE: Asbury Park police bear no responsibility for the deaths of a fleeing suspect and a teenage companion in a crash, a state grand jury found. Dishawn Bellamy, 32, and a 17-year-old boy were in a Ford Explorer that sped past two officers headed toward the sound of gunfire in the area of Atkins Avenue and Boston Way in separate cars shortly before 7:30 p.m. on June 5, 2022. One of the officers recognized Bellamy, who "was known to have an active arrest warrant for a charge of attempted murder," New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. Both officers activated the emergency ligh…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
VIDEO: Man Who Died At Hospital After Police Encounter Seen Berating, Fighting NJSP Trooper VIDEO: Man Who Died At Hospital After Police Encounter Seen Berating, Fighting NJSP Trooper
Video: Man Who Died At Hospital After Police Encounter Seen Berating, Fighting Njsp Trooper UPDATE: A South Jersey man who died following his arrest by State Police taunted a trooper and demanded to be shot before charging and violently fighting the lawman, video released by state authorities shows. Daniel King, 30, of Millville had called 911 seeking a police escort to retrieve a dirt bike from a woman this past July, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said on Friday, Oct. 13. Platkin released a quartet of videos along with a recording of the phone call, which are part of a review required by New Jersey state law whenever someone dies during or immediately after an encou…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
ELDER ABUSE: Financial Advisor Swiped $75K, Neglected 90-Year-Old Woman In His Care: NJ AG ELDER ABUSE: Financial Advisor Swiped $75K, Neglected 90-Year-Old Woman In His Care: NJ AG
Elder Abuse: Financial Advisor Swiped $75K, Neglected 90-Year-Old Woman In His Care: NJ AG A financial advisor from Verona abused his authority over a 90-year-old client's finances, stealing $75,000 while neglecting her care and well-being and letting her bills pile up, state authorities charged. John Boston, 47, tried to hide his hiring to manage the woman's affairs and assets, they said. He never told his employer and ignored a federal Financial Industry Regulatory Authority requirement to register the victim as a client, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a joint announcement with Interim Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Al Garcia. After obtaining durable fin…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Grand Jury Reviews Jersey Shore Passenger's Death In Accused Armed Burglar's Crash With Police Grand Jury Reviews Jersey Shore Passenger's Death In Accused Armed Burglar's Crash With Police
Grand Jury Reviews Jersey Shore Passenger's Death In Accused Armed Burglar's Crash With Police “Oh, sh*t! He’s drivin’!” a Long Branch police officer shouts before his cruiser and a vehicle driven by an armed ex-con slam head-on into one another. Officer Lucas Brito and his colleagues were racing to a 911 call of an attempted home invasion by a masked man with a gun around 4 a.m. this past Aug. 14. Brito’s cruiser collided near the corner of MacArthur and Elmwood avenues with a vehicle driven by the prime suspect in the burglary, Altonia Williams, 45, of Long Branch. Williams bailed out of the BMW 328i and was instantly captured by officers who converged on the accident scene. Two…

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by Jerry DeMarco