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Police & Fire
Elizabeth Man, 42, Armed With Knife In Domestic Dispute Shot, Killed By Police Elizabeth Man, 42, Armed With Knife In Domestic Dispute Shot, Killed By Police
Elizabeth Man, 42, Armed With Knife In Domestic Dispute Shot, Killed By Police A civilian shot and killed by an Elizabeth police officer responding to a domestic dispute this past weekend had a knife, authorities said. Estiben Alegria-Hurtado, 42, of Elizabeth, was shot within a minute of the arrival of city police responding to a call of an "unwanted individual" on Amity Street shortly before 8 a.m. Saturday, July 29, a release from the office of New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin on Wednesday says. Officers rendered aid to Hurtado, who was taken by an EMS unit to University Hospital in Newark, the release says.He was pronounced dead at 11:36 p.m. Sunda…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Officer Not At Fault In Death Of Pedestrian Hit By Police Car On Route 18, NJ Grand Jury Finds Officer Not At Fault In Death Of Pedestrian Hit By Police Car On Route 18, NJ Grand Jury Finds
Officer Not At Fault In Death Of Pedestrian Hit By Police Car On Route 18, NJ Grand Jury Finds UPDATE: A state grand jury has cleared an East Brunswick police officer who was responding to a crash when he struck and killed a 55-year-old Edison man as he stood on darkened Route 18 in the middle of the night. Julius Filep had gotten out of his disabled car after it struck debris scattered across the highway when a sleeping driver slammed into a utility pole on the northbound side shortly after 3:30 a.m. Aug. 1, 2021, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. A third vehicle, as well as an 18-wheel truck, drove over the debris, igniting fiery, arching electrical wires, the attor…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Authorities ID Fleeing Motorcyclist Killed In South Jersey Crash Authorities ID Fleeing Motorcyclist Killed In South Jersey Crash
Authorities ID Fleeing Motorcyclist Killed In South Jersey Crash A motorcyclist lay dead and his passenger seriously injured in the middle of a South Jersey intersection following a crash during a police chase, footage released by state authorities shows. Despite the obvious circumstances, state law and administrative guidelines require New Jersey Attorney Matthew Platkin to investigate the death of John R. Nutt, 41, of Mount Laurel in Pemberton Township that early April evening. Platkin's office released video from both the dashcam of the pursuing officer and the bodycam of a colleague who arrived from the opposite direction after the crash. Also rele…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Man Has Medical Episode And Dies Following NJSP Arrest, Authorities Say Man Has Medical Episode And Dies Following NJSP Arrest, Authorities Say
Man Has Medical Episode And Dies Following Njsp Arrest, Authorities Say A man charged with assaulting an officer suffered a medical episode and died after being arrested by New Jersey State Police, authorities said. Medical personnel were called to the NJSP Bridgeton station around 8 p.m. Saturday, July 8, after the arrestee became unresponsive, according to a release from the office of state Attorney General Matthew Platkin. Troopers tried to resuscitate the as-yet unidentified man, who was pronounced dead at Inspira Medical Center in Vineland the following evening -- 11:37 p.m., July 9, to be exact, the attorney general's release says. State Police had take…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
FINAL MOMENTS: Video Shows Knife-Wielding NJ Man Shot Dead Charging Down Stairs FINAL MOMENTS: Video Shows Knife-Wielding NJ Man Shot Dead Charging Down Stairs
Final Moments: Video Shows Knife-Wielding NJ Man Shot Dead Charging Down Stairs A dispute over an in-home surveillance camera led to the death of a New Jersey man who charged at a police officer with a knife in his hand. Luke Mendez, 26, had his left hand wrapped around the knife handle as he barreled down a set of stairs inside the Middlesex County home, bodycam video released by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin shows. He was only two steps from the landing -- within less than three feet of Old Bridge Police Officer Christopher Hammel -- when three shots rang out. Mendez was pronounced dead at a local hospital about 90 minutes later. Platkin released the…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Fugitive Shot Dead In JC Wanted For Killing Next-Door Neighbor, Wounding Husband In FL: Police Fugitive Shot Dead In JC Wanted For Killing Next-Door Neighbor, Wounding Husband In FL: Police
Fugitive Shot Dead In JC Wanted For Killing Next-Door Neighbor, Wounding Husband In FL: Police UPDATE: A man who was shot and killed in Jersey City by members of a specialized law enforcement team that hunts fugitives was wanted for shooting and killing his 67-year-old next-door neighbor and wounding her husband a day earlier in Florida, authorities said. Esteban De Jesus Jr., 56, had also attacked the couple with a machete before shooting them and fleeing shortly after 6:30 p.m. Friday, July 7, police in Orlando said Monday. Leonidas Duran was found dead on the grass of the complex and her husband wounded in their apartment’s doorway, they said. The husband reportedly was recov…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Florida Murder Suspect Shot, Killed By Fugitive Task Force In Jersey City Florida Murder Suspect Shot, Killed By Fugitive Task Force In Jersey City
Florida Murder Suspect Shot, Killed By Fugitive Task Force In Jersey City UPDATE: A man who was shot and killed in Jersey City by members of a specialized law enforcement team that hunts fugitives was wanted for shooting and killing his 67-year-old next-door neighbor and wounding her husband a day earlier in Florida, authorities said. Esteban De Jesus Jr., 56, had also attacked the couple with a machete before shooting them and fleeing shortly after 6:30 p.m. Friday, July 7, police in Orlando said Monday. Leonidas Duran was found dead on the grass of the complex and her husband wounded in their apartment’s doorway, they said. The husband reportedly was recoverin…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
.44 Magnum Recovered From Violent Ex-Con Shot By Passaic Police: Prosecutor .44 Magnum Recovered From Violent Ex-Con Shot By Passaic Police: Prosecutor
.44 Magnum Recovered From Violent Ex-Con Shot By Passaic Police: Prosecutor UPDATE: A violent ex-con who’d fired several shots into the air from a .44 Magnum was brought down by a Passaic police officer last week after he pointed the powerful pistol at the officer's partner, authorities said. Jason Urban, 42, of Passaic was carrying the revolver made famous by Clint Eastwood’s character in the movie “Dirty Harry” when officers responding to a call of shots fired at Lackawanna Place and Passaic Avenue near the city train station found him shortly before 6:30 p.m. May 10, they said. Urban “fired several rounds from the handgun into the air,” Passaic County Prosecuto…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Ex-Con Shot Dead By Police Following Killings Of Boy, 8, Man In Nearby Home Identified Ex-Con Shot Dead By Police Following Killings Of Boy, 8, Man In Nearby Home Identified
Ex-Con Shot Dead By Police Following Killings Of Boy, 8, Man In Nearby Home Identified UPDATE: A gunman shot by Newark police following the homicides of a city man and 8-year-old boy earlier this month was identified by authorities as a local ex-con with an extensive criminal record. A basic background search turned up a six-year history of arrests for Everett Rand, 29, of Newark after New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin identified him on Tuesday, May 16, as the man shot and killed by police two weeks ago. Responding to a 911 call, officers found 27-year-old Newark resident Wyleek Shaw dead and young Zahmire Lopez mortally wounded in a home on Johnson Avenue shortly …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: State Authorities Leave Review Of Armed Gunman's Shooting By Passaic PD To Prosecutor UPDATE: State Authorities Leave Review Of Armed Gunman's Shooting By Passaic PD To Prosecutor
Update: State Authorities Leave Review Of Armed Gunman's Shooting By Passaic PD To Prosecutor UPDATE: State authorities signaled their faith Thursday that the wounding of an armed man by a Passaic police officer on Wednesday was what everyone involved agrees was a clean shoot. A mandatory review of the incident that is required of New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin has been left in the hands of Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes, the prosecutor herself said on May 11. Officers responding to a call of a man shooting a gun in the area of Passaic Avenue and Lackawanna Place near the train station encountered the suspect shortly before 6:30 p.m. May 10, Passaic Mayor …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
UPDATE: Gunman Shot By Police In Passaic Expected To Survive UPDATE: Gunman Shot By Police In Passaic Expected To Survive
Update: Gunman Shot By Police In Passaic Expected To Survive UPDATE: State authorities signaled their faith Thursday that the wounding of an armed man by a Passaic police officer on Wednesday was what everyone involved agrees was a clean shoot. A mandatory review of the incident that is required of New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin has been left in the hands of Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes, the prosecutor herself said on Thursday, May 11. Officers responding to a call of a man shooting a gun in the area of Passaic Avenue and Lackawanna Place near the train station encountered the suspect shortly before 6:30 p.m. May 10, Pass…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Officer Dies Nearly 2 Months After Shootout With Civilian NJ Officer Dies Nearly 2 Months After Shootout With Civilian
NJ Officer Dies Nearly 2 Months After Shootout With Civilian Robert "Bobby" Shisler fought hard for nearly two months. But the Deptford police officer, who was wounded during a shootout with a civilian on March 10, died on Sunday, May 7, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. Deptford police officer Robert "Bobby" ShislerGoFundMe photo/NJSPBA "His passing in the line-of-duty illustrates the risks facing law enforcement, and how every day when they put on the uniform, New Jersey’s police officers also put their lives on the line to make their communities safer," the attorney general said.  "I am grateful for the service and sacrifice o…

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by Cecilia Levine