Union County Man Shot By Cop After Police Pursuit: Prosecutor

UNION COUNTY, NJ - A 32-year-old Linden man was shot by a police officer Friday after a police pursuit and altercation that began in Union and ended in Mountainside, according Union County Prosecutor Jennifer Davenport.

According to authorities, at approximately 2:15 p.m. Friday, Lester Krek was pulled over by members of the Union Police Department on U.S. Route 22 West for a traffic violation.

Before the stop could be completed, Krek drove away, leaving the scene left the scene which prompted a brief vehicular pursuit, police said. Minutes later, Krek's vehicle was found damaged several miles west down the highway in Mountainside by police.

A short distance away from the crash a Union Police Department sergeant located Krek on the 1600 block of Larkspur Drive in Mountainside where a brief physical altercation resulted in the sergeant firing his service weapon, striking Krek, police said.

Both the Krek and the unidentified officer were transported to University Hospital in Newark for medical treatment of injuries not believed to be life-threatening, Davenport said.

Krek is charged with second-degree disarming a police officer, second-degree eluding police, and third-degree resisting arrest, Davenport said.

The Prosecutor’s Office’s Shooting Response Team is continuing to investigate the circumstances behind this police use of force, in accordance with the applicable New Jersey Office of the Attorney General Directive 2006-05, authorities said.

The criminal charges against Krek will be heard in Superior Court.

Anyone with information about this incident is being urged to contact Sgt. Janet Lopez at 908-347-8491 or Detective Katelyn Prata at 908-447-6195.

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