Cops Won't Be Charged For Fatal 2020 Shooting In Wayne

WAYNE, NJ — A state grand jury voted not to file charges Tuesday against four officers who fatally shot a man nearly two years ago in Wayne. A majority of jurors found the officers justified in using lethal force after the suspect pointed a handgun at an occupied police vehicle, according to the New Jersey Office of Attorney General.

The April 26, 2020, incident put four officers — three from the Fairfield Police Department and one from Wayne's — under investigation for the killing of Bradley G. Pullman. The fatal confrontation came after a police chase that involved multiple law-enforcement agencies and went through several towns.

A 2019 New Jersey law requires the attorney general's office to conduct investigations into deaths that occur during encounters with law enforcement or while in custody. The office must present each investigation to a grand jury, which determines if the evidence supports the return of an indictment.

The killing put Fairfield Police Sgt. Frank Tracey, Officers James Ciampi and Kevin Chen and Wayne Police Lt. Robert Franco under investigation, with the grand jury concluding their actions were justified.

On the day of the killing, a Mountain Lakes officer in a marked vehicle tried to pull over Pullman's car after he allegedly made an illegal U-turn over the median on Route 46, according to the state investigation. Pullman didn't stop, and a pursuit began, according to authorities.

Marked vehicles from the Wayne and Fairfield Police Departments joined the chase, according to the attorney general's office. Cameras in police vehicles showed Pullman, 48, speeding and committing several driving infractions, the investigation found.

The chase ended at the interchange of U.S. Route 46, Route 23, and Interstate 80. Police-camera footage shows a Fairfield officer's vehicle pulling up behind Pullman. Then Pullman opened the driver's side door, and police noticed a handgun in the Queens, New York, resident's hand, authorities said.

Pullman pointed the gun toward an occupied Mountain Lakes police vehicle, with a Wayne police car right behind them, the attorney general's office said. Fairfield police positioned three of their vehicles behind Pullman's, authorities said.

Then the officers fired their service weapons. Police removed Pullman from the vehicle to try and provide aid but didn't detect a pulse. EMS arrived shortly after and pronounced Pullman dead.

Authorities recovered a loaded Cobra .380-caliber pistol from Pullman's car, near the driver's seat, the attorney general's office said.

The investigation into Pullman's death included interviews of witnesses, collection of forensic evidence, review of video footage and autopsy results from the medical examiner.

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