Body-Camera Video Released In Old Bridge Police Fatal Shooting

LAURENCE HARBOR, NJ — Late Tuesday afternoon, New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin released body camera footage of the fatal shooting of a 26-year-old man by an Old Bridge police officer.

This is the fatal shooting that happened April 24 in the Laurence Harbor section of Old Bridge, where Luke Mendez, 26, was fatally shot.

(Warning: The video is graphic and depicts a young man being fatally shot. Some people may find the video difficult to watch). You can watch the body-camera video and listen to the redacted 911 call here: https://njoag.box.com/s/p53if3wmodn2lijbakzjbxv5oepvak89

The officer who shot him with his service weapon has been identified as Christopher Hammel of the Old Bridge Police Department.

To date, no criminal charges have been filed against Hammel, and AG Platkin is still investigating.

Previously, Mendez's grieving father, Luke Mendez, 59, told Patch he wants criminal charges filed against the police officer. He said that has not changed with today's video release.

"I don’t know what to say … I lost my son to a police shooting," said Mendez Tuesday. "There should’ve been other options, as per the state Attorney General's guidelines. Not three bullets to end Luke’s life."

"I’m devastated. I want to see justice and accountability for my son."

That day, Officer Hammel responded to a 911 call at approximately 3:09 p.m. from the two-story white home on Woodland Avenue in Laurence Harbor. The young man lived in that home with his mother, aunts and grandmother.

Police were called by either his mother or aunts, because cameras had been set up inside the home and they were being stolen or taken down, said Mendez's father, who does not live in the home and was not there the day his son was killed.

"I want to kick him out of the house," an unidentified woman's voice is heard in the 911 call.

Officer Hammel arrived and briefly chatted with two older people in the living room of the home. As he first arrives, the police officer's tone is cheerful and calm.

Then he asks to speak to Luke, and instructs the two adults to remain in the living room.

As the video shows, Luke greeted him at the top of the stairs while holding a knife. The police officer immediately took out his gun, pointed it at the younger man and told him multiple times to drop the knife. Mendez appears visibly upset and asked the officer multiple times to "please just leave."

He then descended down the stairs holding the knife. That's when Hammel fired his service weapon, striking Mendez.

Mendez was transported to Old Bridge Medical Center and was pronounced dead at 4:47 p.m. that same day.

The recordings are being released pursuant to policies established by the Attorney General’s Office in 2019 and Gov. Phil Murphy to promote the fair, impartial and transparent investigation of fatal police encounters. Anytime someone is killed by a police officer in New Jersey, the Attorney General has to investigate, and present findings to a grand jury to decide if a crime occurred.

Law enforcement previously met with the slain young man's family last week so they couyuld watch these same recordings before they were released to the public.

"I want everyone involved in this held accountable," Mendez's father, Louis, previously said. "I want the officer to be held liable. He used excessive force and killed my 26-year-old son. I can't bring my son back."

"He's a good kid. A quiet boy who mostly stayed in his room. He didn't deserve this; nobody deserves this," Mendez said through tears in a phone interview in May immediately after his son was killed. "My son was a law-abiding American who was gunned down and killed in his own home. A place where you're supposed to be safe. I thought our state was supposed to make changes to make sure police don't do things like this anymore."

Luke's parents were married for 35 years, but separated four years ago and his father relocated from Laurence Harbor to Jersey City.

Mendez said his son was "very quiet" and often stayed in his room. He did not have a job, and he suffered from on and off depression, said his father.

"I tried to get my son to come up here (to Jersey City) and live with me. He wanted to stay there," he said.

"But he was a good kid," he continued. "He didn't drink, he didn't smoke. He wasn't involved in crime or anything. He was just a quiet, good kid who stayed in his room all the time."

A neighbor on Woodland Avenue, who did want to be named, told Patch there was "always fighting" in the home and that police were called there frequently.

Father Of Man Killed By Old Bridge Police: 'This Could Be Your Son' (May 1)