Teen Accused Of Killing Newark Cop Will Be Tried As Adult: Official

NEWARK, NJ — Authorities plan to charge a 14-year-old accused of killing a Newark police officer during a shootout as an adult, New Jersey's interim U.S. attorney says.

According to police, the shootout took place on March 7 at Broadway and Carteret Street in Newark, a busy intersection that is located near an elementary school, a church and several restaurants.

The encounter began when officers went to investigate several people who they believed had illegal firearms – and were met with gunfire, authorities said.

Officer Joseph Azcona, 25, was shot before he got a chance to step out of the police car. Another officer was also hit by gunfire and suffered non-fatal injuries, authorities said.

The accused shooter – a 14-year-old whose name has not been released – was also hit by gunfire during the encounter. He was hospitalized and treated for non-life-threatening injuries, and has been charged with murder, attempted murder and possession of illegal weapons, authorities said.

>> Read More: Cop Shot Dead In Newark, Teen Arrested (What We Know So Far)

Earlier this week, interim New Jersey U.S. Attorney Alina Habba told the New York Post that the teen will be charged as an adult in federal court.

“The message is very clear: If you’re a child, I don’t care,” Habba said. “If you shoot a cop, you’re getting tried as an adult. I have no tolerance for violence and we’re gonna clean up New Jersey.”

Habba repeated her statement in an appearance on Fox News.

The move would supersede state law, which requires juveniles to have been at least 15-years-old at the time of the crime to be tried as an adult.

Habba, a White House counselor who was previously a personal lawyer for President Donald Trump, was sworn in as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor last week.

Habba has claimed that there is a “heavy amount of crime” in the state that she will root out during her time as U.S. attorney. However, some experts have pointed out that New Jersey has seen a significant drop in violent crime since the 1980s and 1990s.

• See Related: 2 Largest Cities In NJ Are Seeing Big Drops In Murders, Shootings
• See Related: NJ Is 'Safest' State In Nation For Violent Crime, Study Says

PROSECUTING JUVENILES IN NEW JERSEY

The idea of prosecuting juveniles as adults in New Jersey has seen support and criticism.

Civil rights advocates have argued that charging juveniles as adults is a slippery slope that is vulnerable to abuse and discrimination – and which doesn’t make communities safer in the long run.

According to Human Rights Watch, the law in New Jersey allows prosecutors to “unilaterally” decide whether children are tried as adults. It’s a situation that is causing “devastating harm,” advocates say.

“The law disproportionately affects children of color, yields arbitrary geographic disparities, and prioritizes punishment over rehabilitation,” the group claimed in a February report.

“New Jersey lawmakers should end this harmful practice and put in place meaningful judicial oversight to ensure fairer outcomes for children,” Human Rights Watch asserted.

Others have argued otherwise.

In the wake of Azcona’s death, Fraternal Order of Police New Jersey State Lodge President Robert Fox called for lawmakers to change the current statutes and give county prosecutors the “necessary discretion” to prosecute juveniles as adults for capital offenses.

“The Fraternal Order of Police demands that our communities be kept safe, and part of that safety would be to give prosecutors throughout the state of New Jersey the discretion to prosecute juveniles as adults in situations where the breadth of the crime would justify such prosecution,” Fox said.

An online petition titled “Justice for Sergeant Joseph Azcona” has garnered more than 18,600 signatures as of Thursday.

My own son Sergeant Joseph Azcona an upstanding member of the community and a dedicated law enforcement officer, was brutally killed by a 14-year-old,” the petition reads. “Despite the severity of the matter, the state is unwilling to sentence the 14-year-old as an adult. This has left our family in a perplexed and painful position.”

“We firmly believe that the gravity of the crime committed should be the determining factor of the proceeding, not the age of the offender,” the petition says.

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