'Shoot Me': Video Released Of Pleasantville Officer-Involved Shooting

PLEASANTVILLE, NJ — Authorities released body camera footage from several police officers as part of the ongoing investigation into an officer-involved shooting that injured a Pleasantville man in May.

The footage from eight body-worn cameras along with the audio from two 911 calls in the May 24 shooting of Jalial Whitted, 37, of Pleasantville, at the Dollar General in Pleasantville, Atlantic County, was published to YouTube, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Billhimer said the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office was asked by the state Attorney General's office to handle the investigation into the shooting.

Billhimer released the following timeline from the preliminary investigation:

Pleasantville Police received a 911 call at about 9:35 a.m. indicating someone had fired a gun at the Dollar General on South New Road.

The first Pleasantville officer arrived at 9:37 a.m. and found Whitted inside the store with a handgun protruding from his right pocket.

As additional officers arrived, Whitted walked toward the officers and refused to follow directions to stop and drop to the ground, instead saying to the officers "shoot me."

The officers attempted to de-escalate the situation by backing away and allowing Whitted to exit the store and stand on the front sidewalk. Whitted then reached for and placed his hand on the handgun in his right pocket, at which time five police officers discharged their duty firearms at him.

"The officers indicated that they fired to protect the lives of the nearby public, their own lives, and the lives of their fellow officers," Billhimer said.

"The video footage from the body-worn cameras is being released pursuant to the policies established by the Office of the Attorney General designed to promote fair, impartial, and transparent investigations of police officer-involved shootings," Billhimer said.

Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office met with Whitted’s mother and showed her the recordings before the recordings were released to news media.

The investigation is continuing, but here are the video and 911 files released by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office on YouTube. They vary in length from 12 minutes to nearly 30 minutes and show not only the shooting but the actions of the officers before and after the shooting.

Viewer discretion is urged as every video includes the shooting and significant profanity.

• Video 1 shows an officer who confronted Whitted while he was still in Dollar General.
• Video 2 shows an officer who responded directing other officers at the scene before several open fire on Whitted.
• Video 3 shows an officer arriving and then the officers firing after Whitted reached for his gun, and him being handcuffed.
• Video 4 shows an officer who initially went to another Dollar General and then arrived at the scene not long before the shooting.
• Video 5 shows the clearest view of the sequence where Whitted is seen reaching for the handgun and is shot.
• Video 6 shows another clear view of the sequence where Whitted is seen reaching for the handgun and is shot.
• Video 7 shows officers handcuffing Whitted and getting treatment for him as he sits on the sidewalk bleeding.
• Video 8 shows the aftermath of the shooting, with officers marking and recording evidence for the investigation. This video is more than 2 hours long.

The 911 calls are posted online as well:

The first 911 call is from the Dollar General manager at 9:31 a.m. reporting a man trying to steal cars in the parking lot.

The second 911 call, at 9:35 a.m., is the manager reporting shots fired in the store.

Billhimer said the investigation remains active and ongoing and no further information will be released at this time.

"This investigation is being conducted pursuant to a state law enacted in January 2019 (P.L. 2019, c.1), which requires that the Attorney General’s Office direct all investigations of officer-involved shootings. Separately, the Independent Prosecutor Directive, which was issued in December 2019, outlines a 10-step process for conducting these investigations. The Directive establishes clear procedures governing such investigations to ensure that they are conducted in a full, impartial and transparent manner," the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.

The directive and a summary of the process are available online.