WASHINGTON, N.J. (AP) - Prosecutors say a police officer was justified in shooting and wounding a man last summer in northwestern New Jersey.
The Warren County prosecutor’s office said officers responded July 25 to a Washington Township home on a report of a man physically assaulting a woman. Arriving officers saw a woman fleeing in a vehicle, and some officers followed while one remained to try to locate the suspect.
Prosecutors said that officer tried to arrest the suspect, but the suspect assaulted and disarmed the officer. Prosecutors said the officer was able to gain control of the weapon and fired, striking the suspect in the abdomen. He was taken to a hospital with non-fatal injuries.
Prosecutors said the officer was in fear for his or her life and once in control of the weapon again “reasonably believed” that discharging the weapon was necessary to protect his or her life. Because the shooting was non-fatal, presentation to a grand jury wasn’t required, prosecutors said.
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