No Charges For MSU Cops After Gun Drawn During Arrest: Report

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Prosecutors won’t be charging any Montclair State University cops after an officer drew a gun during a pair of arrests last month, a report says. The incident was captured on video and posted to social media, inspiring rebuke - and support - for the involved officers and suspects.

The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office said that after a review, the officers will not face charges for their actions while making two arrests at the MSU campus, NorthJersey.com reported. (Read the full article here)

The arrests took place on the first day of class for the fall semester, when MSU police came across a fight in progress around 4:30 p.m. in a parking lot on the campus at Clove and Village roads. One of the officers drew a gun during the encounter but didn't discharge the weapon, according to a university statement.

One of the arrested was a MSU student and the other was not, the Montclarion reported.

One of the arrestees was charged with simple assault. The other was charged with simple assault, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. Two other people at the scene were released without charges being filed, authorities said.

Consistent with State of New Jersey protocols, the Montclair State University Police Department submitted a "use of force" report to the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office for an independent review of the incident.

• See related article: Gun Drawn During Arrests At Montclair State University (VIDEO)

A bystander posted a video of the encounter which can be seen at the bottom of this article. WARNING: Viewer discretion advised.

Several internet users questioned the police response on social media.

• "While highly disappointing, this is not surprising. I need my alma mater to do better than this. There is no reason to draw weapons on unarmed people no matter what. Also, the way they pulled the other young man out of the car is highly questionable and disgusting."
• "People have video of those... campus police pulling guns, weapons, on unarmed students. I'm ashamed to call this my alma mater. A damn mess."

However, one commenter also cautioned that there may be more to the story than the video shows.

"I just wanna say that I witnessed this event in person and this video DOES NOT capture the full event. This man was not cooperating and the cop did not tackle him right away, it was only when he started to resist and was clearly yelling. Don't make assumptions off of a half vid."

MSU administrators provided Patch with a statement about the arrests, which follows below.

"At approximately 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 5, a law enforcement officer from the Montclair State University Police Department, while leaving the substation at the end of shift, observed a fight in progress between two individuals next to a car in a parking lot on the campus at Clove Road and Village Road.

"The primary role of the University Police is to keep the campus safe. Due to the uncertainties surrounding this altercation and vehicle stop, the officers took every precaution necessary to make sure that members of the campus community were not at risk. While the optics in the video may be unclear, the reality is that the officers acted according to New Jersey Attorney General guidelines and the process worked.

"In this situation, the officer promptly contacted police headquarters to advise of the fight in progress and to request backup. The officer identified to the combatants as a law enforcement officer and ordered the two individuals to cease fighting and to lay on the ground. The combatants initially refused to comply with the officer's order. The officer then noticed a third individual in the front seat of the vehicle and ordered that individual to show his hands. The officer then detected additional movement in the rear seat of the vehicle but did not have a clear view since the vehicle's windows were tinted.

"Because of the uncertainty of the situation, the officer drew his weapon to secure the scene until back-up arrived. Requested backup arrived and the combatants were once again ordered to the ground. One of the combatants, after refusing to comply and resisting arrest, was subdued to the ground and handcuffed. The other combatant complied with instructions and was placed under arrest. The individual seated in the back seat was ordered to the ground and searched. The individual in the front seat was searched as well.

"All of the officers holstered their weapons to make the arrests, with the exception of one officer who continued to monitor the movements of the partly obscured person in the backseat of the vehicle. There was no discharge of any weapons nor was any individual injured during the incident, except for one of the involved officers who sustained minor injuries.”

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Photo: @jaffer_mehdi (used with permission)