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Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA)

Police & Fire
NJ Police Officer Justified In Shooting Driver To Stop Backhoe Rampage, Grand Jury Rules NJ Police Officer Justified In Shooting Driver To Stop Backhoe Rampage, Grand Jury Rules
NJ Police Officer Justified In Shooting Driver To Stop Backhoe Rampage, Grand Jury Rules UPDATE: A local New Jersey police sergeant was justified in shooting a man who hijacked a backhoe and went on a rampage, damaging two police vehicles, an ambulance and an occupied civilian sedan before he was finally stopped. Although authorities collected a trove of surveillance and bodycam video showing precisely what led to the death of Joshua Gonzalez, 20, of Millville, state law still required a grand jury to review the outcome. Gonzalez kept police at bay for nearly a half-hour during the video-recorded rampage in Vineland, which began around 5 a.m. on Dec. 18, 2021, on West Park Dri…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
CHILLING VIDEO: Sharp-Shooting Officer Downs Rifle-Wielding NJ Madman Who Threatened Woman CHILLING VIDEO: Sharp-Shooting Officer Downs Rifle-Wielding NJ Madman Who Threatened Woman
Chilling Video: Sharp-Shooting Officer Downs Rifle-Wielding NJ Madman Who Threatened Woman Gripping video shows an irate man with a rifle threatening to kill a female homeowner before a steady-nerved local New Jersey police officer takes him down from a distance with a single shot. The fatal encounter from earlier this year plays out in a collection of video -- including one from the hero officer's body cam and another from a surveillance camera pointed directly at the house -- that was released by state Attorney General Matthew Platkin. The video is part of a state-mandated investigation into the police-involved death of Daniel Nevius Sr., 55, of Sicklerville this past January.…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
BETRAYER OF THE BADGE: NJ Officer Admits Using Authority On Duty To Pressure Women Into Sex BETRAYER OF THE BADGE: NJ Officer Admits Using Authority On Duty To Pressure Women Into Sex
Betrayer OF THE Badge: NJ Officer Admits Using Authority On Duty To Pressure Women Into Sex UPDATE: A Vernon Township police officer who was accused of groping a Bergen County woman during a domestic violence call admitted abusing his authority on duty to force women to submit to his sexual advances. Emanuel Rivera, 38, acknowledged the “imbalance of power” between him and the women he was hitting on, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Acting Sussex County Prosecutor Annmarie Taggart said in a joint statement. This left them unable to consent, he admitted, because of the “coercive, intimidating nature of such requests” coming from a uniformed police officer," the s…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NJ Troopers Justified In Shooting Driver From Poconos Who Shot Dog, Grand Jury Rules NJ Troopers Justified In Shooting Driver From Poconos Who Shot Dog, Grand Jury Rules
NJ Troopers Justified In Shooting Driver From Poconos Who Shot Dog, Grand Jury Rules A country music song played on the car stereo as a Pennsylvania driver who'd just crashed into a ditch off Route 80 shot his dog and was then shot and killed by two New Jersey State Police troopers. The troopers’ actions were justified, a grand jury has found. Panel members reviewed a collection of videos, among other evidence, before rendering their decision earlier this week, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said Thursday, March 2. The videos, which can be found here, show the two troopers approaching the disabled vehicle from either side on Starlite Hill Road in the Columbia…

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by Jerry DeMarco