Burlington County Officer Cleared of Wrongdoing in Police-Involved Shooting

A Burlington County grand jury has returned a vote of “no-bill” in the case of an off-duty Delanco police officer who shot a Willingboro man, putting him in critical condition, on Sept. 30 of last year.

A separate grand jury then indicted 27-year-old Tysean Fitzpatrick, who survived the shooting, with third degree attempted theft of the officer’s Chevrolet Avalanche.

The Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office announced both decisions Wednesday afternoon.

Basil Warren, an officer with the Delanco Police Department, visited a property he recently purchased in Edgewater Park following the conclusion of his shift at 3 a.m. on Sept. 30. He was driving his personal car, but was still in uniform, and still had his service weapon.

Warren went inside the home, but returned to his car when he heard the door close. When he left the house, he saw his car being backed down the driveway in an erratic manner.

He told investigators with the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office that he couldn’t see who was in the car, how many people were in the car, or if anyone inside the car was armed. He said he repeatedly yelled to the car to stop, but was ignored.

Instead, the car continued to back out of the driveway and took a wide looping path as it turned onto the street.

He followed the car as it backed out of the driveway and made his way near the driver’s side door, consistent with the manner of his police training. He said the car moved forward before coming to a stop.

At that point, he said he thought whoever was in the car would get out, but instead heard the engine “rev” and saw the car come at him in reverse.

Warren said he thought the car was going to run him over, so he pulled out his service weapon and fired it five times.

Two of the bullets perforated the rear driver side window and front driver’s seat of the vehicle prior to striking Fitzpatrick.

The damaged rear driver’s side window subsequently fell onto the street, and Fitzpatrick was able to drive approximately 100 yards before coming to a stop.

At this point, Warren realized Fitzpatrick was the only person in the car, and told him to stop and get out. He then administered first aid to Fitzpatrick.

The investigation of this incident included witness interviews, a crime scene reconstruction based on physical evidence located at the scene and a forensic examination of evidence recovered in connection with this incident and the car.

The “no-bill” decision, made on July 28, determined that Warren “ acted lawfully under the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice.”

Burlington County Prosecutor Robert Bernardi reviewed the entire matter, and all portions of the Attorney General’s Law Enforcement Directive regarding uniform statewide procedures and best practices for conducting police use of force investigations in effect during the course of this investigation were complied with.