Grand Jury Declines To Indict Howell Officers In Death Of Belmar Man

Howell Township police officers have been cleared in the death of a Belmar man at a music festival last September, after a Monmouth County grand jury declined to indict them, according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

The officers responded to 911 calls at 2:15 p.m. on Sept. 5, 2015 about a disorderly person at the Souper Groove Music Festival at the Priedaine Latvian Society on Route 33.

The officers found private security guards holding down Timothy Harden, 38. Other volunteers and bystanders told police that Harden had been acting erratically all day and was believed to be under the influence of illegal drugs, Gramiccioni said.

Harden also punched a security guard who tried to help him. The security guard punched him back. The guard and other guards took Harden to the ground, he said.

Harden was "belligerent and combative" with the guards when police arrived. Harden refused medical attention and had to be restrained by police while they waited for EMTs to arrive. Members of the Howell Township First Aid Squad contacted MONOC paramedics so he could be sedated and taken to a hospital, Gramiccioni said.

Harding suddenly stopped breathing before the sedative could be administered. He was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The Middlesex County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Harden's an accidental result of a "drug-induced excited delirium." Toxicological tests showed Harden had cocaine, alcohol and marijuana in his system at the time of his death, Gramiccioni said.

"...it is apparent that the actions of the officers were lawful and did not violate the Use of Force policies of the Attorney General’s Office or Monmouth County," he said.

The case was presented to a Monmouth County grand jury on Feb. 26, 2016, to review the officers’ actions. The grand jury declined to file criminal charges against the officers, Gramiccioni said.