Jury Declines To Charge Cranford Cops After Man Dies In Garden State Parkway Shootout

CRANFORD, NJ — A state grand jury has voted not to file any criminal charges against two Cranford Police Officers who fatally shot the driver of a stolen car in a shootout on the Garden State Parkway on Dec. 28, 2023.

According to the investigation, Cranford Police Officers Christopher Folinusz and Ryan McSharry were chasing a stolen vehicle when it crashed in the area of Exit 131 on the Parkway southbound.

After the crash, the driver of the vehicle, Kevin Harlfinger, 40, of Perth Amboy, exchanged gunfire with Folinusz and McSharry, said authorities.

Harlfinger was pronounced dead at the scene at around 12:04 a.m. on Dec. 29, 2023.

A gun was recovered from Harlfinger, and spent shell casings recovered from the scene were ballistically determined to come from that firearm, according to authorities.

Officer Folinusz had a non-fatal gunshot wound, was treated at a hospital, and later released.

Harlfinger's death was investigated by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) and presented to New Jersey residents serving on the grand jury in accordance with the Independent Prosecutor Directive of 2019.

In July 2021, OPIA issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure these grand jury presentations are conducted in a neutral, objective manner, with appropriate transparency regarding the process, consistent with the directive.

The investigation included footage from mobile video recorders and various body-worn cameras, interviews with civilians and law enforcement personnel, photographs, ballistic testing results, and autopsy results from a medical examiner.

The recordings are available here: Click here to view the recordings (Warning: The body-worn camera footage shows violence and may be upsetting to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.)

A 2019 law, N.J.S.A. 52:17B-107a(2), requires the Attorney General’s Office to conduct investigations of a person’s death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody. It requires that all such investigations be presented to a grand jury to determine if the evidence supports the return of an indictment against the officer or officers involved. The grand jury is instructed on the elements of the potential criminal offenses, including criminal homicide offenses, that could be brought and, as required by statutes, the grand jury is instructed on self-defense and other forms of legal justification.

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