Controversy Boils Over Newark Police Shooting; IDs Of Deceased Man, Officer Released

NEWARK, NJ — State prosecutors have released the identities of the officer and person who was killed during a police shooting in Newark on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Authorities previously said Newark police officers encountered several “civilians” near Ross Street and Evergreen Avenue around 1 p.m. During the encounter, one of the officers fired his weapon, striking two people.

The wounded civilians were taken to University Hospital. One was pronounced dead a short time after arrival.

No police officers were wounded, authorities said.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda Sr. each released a statement after the shooting, with Miranda identifying the wounded adults as “suspects.” Each official expressed confidence in the still-to-come results of the investigation from the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability.

>> READ MORE: Newark Mayor, Top Cop Comment On Fatal MLK Day Shooting

More details came on Friday when the New Jersey attorney general’s office released an update on the investigation.

According to prosecutors, the civilian who died during the encounter has been identified as Wali Bey, 42, of Newark. The police officer has been identified as Nashid Reynolds.

The attorney general’s office also released additional details about the shooting:

“According to the preliminary investigation, plainclothes officers from the Newark Police Department, along with uniformed officers and marked vehicles, were conducting surveillance in the area of Ross Street and Evergreen Avenue in Newark shortly after 1 p.m. Newark police officer Reynolds exited his vehicle and approached other officers and a group of civilians that were detained in connection with an active investigation. Shortly thereafter, Reynolds fired his weapon, striking Bey and another civilian, who were occupants of a vehicle. The two civilians were taken to University Hospital in Newark, where Mr. Bey was pronounced deceased at 1:51 p.m.”

The other person who was shot during the encounter has been released from the hospital, authorities said.

“The investigation into the circumstances of the fatal encounter is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time,” the attorney general’s office said.

A lawyer for the Newark Fraternal Order of Police – which represents the officer – alleged that the action taken by his client was “wholly warranted and necessary.”

“Our client, along with other officers, was working an undercover assignment, witnessing several obvious and illegal drug transactions, and was easily identifiable as a law enforcement officer by virtue of his bullet proof vest that has Newark Police boldly printed on it, front and back,” he told NJ Advance Media.

“Moreover, the driver of the vehicle floored his vehicle and drove directly at our client after being told to exit the vehicle, hitting him,” he added.

FUNERAL AND RALLY

Grieving family members and Newark residents held vigils for Bey on Monday and Tuesday, and a rally on Wednesday outside the 5th Precinct at Clinton Avenue and Bergen Street. Many community members have been demanding more answers about the shooting from authorities.

Groups with representation at the rally included the Newark Anti-Violence Coalition, the People’s Organization for Progress, the Newark Study Group Chapter of the Association for study of Classical African Civilizations, the New Black Panther Party, and the Black Panther Party for Self Defense from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

An Islamic funeral was held for Bey on Thursday in Newark.

Bey is a lifelong Newark resident and father of two children.

Bey’s sister and witnesses told Fox 5 New York that masked officers arrived at the scene in plainclothes and unmarked vehicles. Family members alleged that the occupants of the minivan didn’t realize they were police officers and tried to pull away from the scene before shots were fired.

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