Officers Cleared In Fatal 2018 Shooting Of Man In Mantoloking

MANTOLOKING, NJ — The fatal 2018 shooting in Mantoloking of a man who slashed his own throat, stabbed a police dog and threatened officers with a knife has been ruled a justified use of force, the Ocean County prosecutor's office said Wednesday.

Edward M. Walsh, 39, died Nov. 12, 2018 after being shot multiple times by officers who found him in a garage of a home in Mantoloking, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said in a report on the shooting that was reviewed and approved by the New Jersey attorney general's office.

The report said toxicology results showed Walsh's blood tested positive for amphetamine, methamphetamine and THC, with a result of 210 ng/mL, 950 ng/mL and.54 ng/mL, respectively. A urine screen revealed metabolites for cocaine, methamphetamines and fentanyl.

The toxicology report said, "Blood levels of 200 to 600ng/mL have been reported in methamphetamine abusers who exhibited violent andirrational behavior," Billhimer said.

Walsh was being sought after he kidnapped and beat his girlfriend on Nov. 11, He threatened to kill her and showed her a shotgun, authorities said. Sayreville police had filed charges of kidnapping; aggravated assault; unlawful possession of a weapon; possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose; and theft by unlawful taking, Billhimer said.

On Nov. 12, a friend of Walsh contacted Lacey police and told them he had given Walsh a ride from Lacey to Mantoloking. He said Walsh was acting paranoid and had a water bottle, soda and roll of paper towels when he dropped him off in Mantoloking, but did not know for sure whether Walsh had a weapon.

Lacey police notified Mantoloking police at 11:47 a.m. that Walsh was in the borough, and officers from Mantoloking and Bay Head went to the home where he'd been dropped off. An Ocean County sheriff's officer and his K-9 officer also responded.

As they walked around the house, they found a water bottle, soda, and roll of paper towels outside the back door of the garage. The doors were locked and undamaged. With keys obtained from the homeowner, a detective, a Mantoloking officer and a Bay Head officer and the county sheriff's officer with K-9 Kane went in the house and announced they were law enforcement.

K-9 Kane scented Walsh on a small utility closet door, and when the officer opened the door, Walsh jumped out of the closet, cut his own throat multiple times with a large knife, and then began stabbing K-9 Kane, who was attached to Walsh’s left arm, with a large knife. The officer commanded K-9 Kane to release and return to him, and Walsh then began approaching the officers with the knife, simultaneously backing the officer and K-9 Kane into the front corner of the garage.

The officers repeatedly yelled "Police, drop the knife!" but Walsh kept advancing, walking at least 20 fee from the utility closet toward the officers, before they fired on him.

Officers found a large knife with a brown handle next to Walsh and a second knife in his waistband, took both out of his reach and administered first aid until the ambulance arrived.

K-9 Kane received first aid and was taken to a veterinary hospital for the treatment.

The Ocean County Medical Examiner said the autopsy on Walsh showed sharp force injuries to the neck consistent with the officers’ reports that Walsh had slashed his own neck. The cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds and the manner of death was homicide. The medical examiner also said the self-inflicted knife wounds would have ultimately caused Walsh to die if they had been left untreated.

"The Office of the Attorney General and Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer are satisfied that the undisputed facts establish that the Mantoloking Police Officers; the Ocean County Sheriff Officer and the Bay Head Officer involved in this incident were legally justified in the force they used to protect their lives and those of their fellow officers," the statement said.

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