Fatal Police Shooting In South Jersey Under Investigation: AG

The Attorney General’s Office is investigating a fatal police-involved shooting that happened in South Jersey Thursday afternoon.

Jacob Servais, 19, of Millville, was shot when he came across detectives with the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office and Wildwood police,who were investigating an incident at Just for Wheels Car, Truck and Van Rental on Delsea Drive in Vineland, according to the Attorney General’s Office. He was shot by one of the detectives.

Servais was taken by ambulance to Inspira Medical Center in Vineland, where he was pronounced dead, the Attorney General’s Office said. None of the detectives were injured.

There was no information as to why the detectives were in the area or what lead to the shooting. The investigation is ongoing, and the Attorney General’s Office didn’t release any further information.

An employee at a nearby business told nj.com he heard about four or five bangs while he was sitting inside a car. When he looked outside, he saw about four or five cops going around the car. Shortly thereafter, multiple police cars and an ambulance showed up.

In New Jersey, all investigations of fatal police-involved shootings are governed by the Attorney General's Independent Prosecutor Directive, issued in 2006 and strengthened in 2015, which establishes strict procedures for conducting such investigations.

It requires the Attorney General to review all deadly force investigations, and in some cases, conduct them. In this case, the investigation is being conducted directly by the Attorney General’s Shooting Response Team. The directive further provides that unless the undisputed facts indicate the use of force was justified under the law, the circumstances of the incident must ultimately be presented to a grand jury, composed of 23 civilians, for its independent review.

The Independent Prosecutor Directive is posted on the Attorney General’s website at the following link: http://www.nj.gov/oag/dcj/agguide/directives/2006-5_SRT_OIS.pdf. Further information about how officer-involved shootings are investigated in New Jersey under the directive is found at this link:
http://www.nj.gov/oag/independent-prosecutor/.

This is the second fatal police-involved shooting in Vineland this year. In July, a 37-year-old Bridgeton man was shot by police outside a Vineland home during an investigation. Read more here: Details Revealed After Man Killed In NJ Police Standoff On Video

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