Video Shows Police Shooting In Newark, Man Expected To Live: AG

NEWARK, NJ — The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office has released bodycam footage from a police shooting that wounded a man in Newark last summer.

On Friday, the attorney general’s office released video from the encounter, which took place on Aug. 12. The wounded man received life-threatening injuries. He is expected to survive, authorities said.

An investigation into the incident continues, authorities said. The recordings can be viewed online here. NOTE: Videos contain violent footage, viewer discretion is advised.

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

“According to the investigation, at approximately 8:34 p.m. on August 12, 2024, the officers observed a Porsche Macan parked on Clinton Place near Hawthorne Avenue in Newark. [The first officer] and his partner determined that the vehicle was stolen and positioned their marked patrol vehicle in front of the Porsche to further investigate. They exited their patrol vehicle and immediately approached the only occupant of the Porsche, seated in the front passenger seat.”

Prosecutors continued:

“The officers ordered the passenger, an adult male, to exit the vehicle, which he did. [The first officer] then handcuffed and escorted the passenger to the area of his parked police vehicle. While the two officers were at the police vehicle with the passenger, an individual exited the adjacent convenience store, entered the Porsche through the passenger side front door, and moved into the driver’s seat. The officers left the handcuffed passenger next to the patrol vehicle and immediately returned to the Porsche. The officers attempted to remove the individual from the driver’s seat. During this encounter, the officers instructed the driver to stop; he did not comply. [The first officer] then quickly returned to the patrol vehicle, placed the passenger in its back seat, and ran back to the front driver’s side of the Porsche.

Prosecutors concluded:

“There, [the first officer’s] partner was engaged in a struggle with the driver, who placed the vehicle into gear and reversed. [His] partner, who was still trying to gain control of the vehicle and the driver, moved backwards with the reversing vehicle. As [the first officer] yelled ‘back up’ multiple times, his partner disengaged from the vehicle and the driver. Nearly simultaneously, the Porsche accelerated forward and [the first officer] discharged two rounds from his duty firearm, striking the driver. The vehicle struck the patrol car and stopped momentarily; it then accelerated forward at a high rate of speed. The Porsche crossed the intersection and entered the sidewalk area before it crashed into a brick building and careened into two parked, unoccupied civilian vehicles.”

Officers provided medical aid to the driver, who was transported to University Hospital and treated for life-threatening injuries, prosecutors added.

NEWARK PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR STATEMENT

Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda issued a statement in the wake of Friday's bodycam footage release.

"The Newark Police Division fully supports the Office of Attorney General Matthew Platkin’s investigation of the police-involved shooting that occurred on August 12, 2024, at Clinton Place near Hawthorne Avenue," Miranda stated.

"The Attorney General’s release of body-worn camera footage is a prudent step in the investigative process that aligns with the Newark Police Division’s commitment to serving our community with the utmost transparency," Miranda said.

"We are confident that the Office of Attorney General Platkin will conduct a thorough and judicious investigation of this incident," Miranda added. "We also thank our conscientious community members for their willingness to come forward to cooperate with the investigation."

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