Clark Cop 'Justified' in Shooting at Suspect, Ruling Says

Clark, NJ -- A Clark Police officer is in the clear after he shot at a man who attempted to run down the officer with his car, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office announced.

The Union County Prosecutor’s Office has determined that the use of deadly force was legally justified in the strip mall parking lot incident on Aug. 8, 2014.

Both the Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park and the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice agreed, that the use of deadly force by the Officer was legally justified, and that the case need not be presented to a grand jury because there were no material facts in dispute.

The shooting incident:

The incident unfolded when police got a call from the loss prevention department at the Target, located in the strip mall at 45 Central Avenue, reporting Kasaine Pertet, 33, of New Windsor, N.Y. had used a fake credit card, police said.

The officer proceeded to the store in an unmarked car, while another officer arrived in a marked car just after Pertet was getting in his car and attempted to block him from escaping.

However, Pertet was able to get away and drove the wrong way through the entrance into oncoming traffic where he crashed into the first officer’s unmarked car, authorities said.

The uninjured officer, in full police uniform, stepped out of his car and drew his gun and told Pertet to put his car in park.

Pertet instead put his car in reverse and crashed into another car waiting to exit the parking lot. The officer stepped in front of Pertet’s Taurus when he put the car in drive and accelerated toward the officer, police said.

With no room to escape due to traffic and a dirt embankment, the officer fired one shot from his service weapon, a .45-caliber pistol, striking the front passenger side door as Pertet unexpectedly turned left, driving over a curb and down a dirt embankment, according to police.

Petret was not harmed and fled the area. He continued to flee from officers, driving through several towns before crashing his car, which caught fire, before being arrested by Elizabeth Police officers, according to police.

Surveillance video from a camera on the roof of the Target confirmed the timeline of events and the police action described.

Ballistics testing was also done by the Union County Police Department which confirmed that a single shot was discharged from the officer’s weapon.

A single bullet fragment was recovered from the interior of the charred Taurus and was consistent with being fired from Officer’s weapon, according to police.