Authorities Won't Release Name Of Cop Who Shot Suspected Carjacker

Authorities are refusing to release the identity of a New Jersey State Police trooper who fatally shot a suspected carjacker in Union Township in April.

The NJ Attorney General’s Office has officially denied an OPRA request from NJ Advance Media, which had been asking for the trooper’s name since the shooting took place.

According to a release from the NJ Office of the Attorney General, the incident took place around 6 p.m. on Walker Avenue near the Mill Run apartment complex, while troopers from the State Police Interstate Theft North Unit were conducting surveillance of a Jeep that was previously reported stolen in Bloomfield on April 13.

State police stated that the troopers witnessed Daniel Wolfe, 35, of Parlin, pull up in a pickup truck, park and get into the vehicle.

That’s where things took a turn for the worse, according to the NJOAG:

“As troopers approached, Wolfe drove the Jeep in reverse, ramming a parked vehicle. He then accelerated forward in the direction of a state trooper. The trooper fired multiple rounds from his service weapon, wounding Wolfe in the head. The Jeep continued southbound onto Walker Avenue, where it struck a parked vehicle and came to rest. Troopers removed Wolfe from the Jeep and provided him with medical aid.”

Wolfe was taken to University Hospital in Newark, where he was pronounced dead.

Wolfe’s family has disputed the allegations, stating he was working for a tow company that owned the car and that it was not stolen, reported NJ.com.

Wolfe had been released from prison in January after serving a five-year sentence for burglary, theft, receiving stolen property and fleeing police, NJ.com stated.