Blackwood Man Arrested After Police-Involved Shooting: AG

BUENA TOWNSHIP, NJ — The Attorney General’s Office is investigating a shooting involving a state trooper and a suspect from Blackwood, authorities said on Thursday. No one was injured in the incident, which occurred near the intersection of Route 40 and 54 in Buena at about 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 2, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

State police were responding to reports of gunshots fired in the area, which is located near a number of businesses, according to authorities. A witness later told police that 28-year-old Luis Figueroa, of Blackwood, pointed a handgun at him in the area of the Rodeway Inn and fired at least once.

When state troopers from Buena Station and the officers from the Franklin Township Police Department arrived, they Figueroa into the woods, where he was arrested. During the arrest, a state trooper fired his weapon. Police said they recovered a handgun from Figueroa.

Figueroa was charged with attempted murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, possession of a weapon as a convicted felon, and resisting arrest by flight. He is being held in the Atlantic County Jail pending a detention hearing. The investigation is ongoing, and the Attorney General’s Office didn’t release any additional information on Thursday.

In New Jersey, all investigations of police deadly force incidents are governed by the Attorney General's Independent Prosecutor Directive, issued in 2006 and strengthened in 2015, which establishes strict procedures for conducting such investigations.

It requires the Attorney General to review all deadly force investigations, and in some cases conduct them. In this case, the investigation is being conducted directly by the Attorney General’s SRT. Under the directive, unless the undisputed facts indicate the use of force was justified by law, the circumstances of the incident must ultimately be presented to a grand jury, composed of 23 civilians, for its independent review.

The Independent Prosecutor Directive is posted on the Attorney General’s website: http://www.nj.gov/oag/dcj/agguide/directives/2006-5_SRT_OIS.pdf.

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