New Jersey detective fatally shoots man; NJ Attorney General investigating

BERLIN TOWNSHIP, N.J. (WPHL) — A deadly police-involved shooting in Camden County is under investigation by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office after a man was shot and killed by a state police detective on Tuesday.

The incident occurred on Haddon Avenue at Bate Street in the West Berlin section of Berlin Township, N.J. According to a preliminary report, two New Jersey State Police detectives, who were assigned to the U.S. Marshals Service NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force, were conducting an investigation involving the man when they encountered him near Haddon Avenue and Bate Avenue.

“It was right in the backyard right there,” one neighbor said on Action News at 10 on PHL17. He referred to the duplex residence on Haddon Ave. “I heard three pops.”

During the encounter, one of the detectives fired his service weapon, striking the man. Authorities say first aid was administered before the man was transported to Cooper University Hospital in Camden, where he was pronounced dead at 2:13 p.m.

“I saw the body drop and I saw the officer go into action,” said a neighbor who did not want to be identified.” One was radioing someone to get help.”

Police taped off the corner where the residence is located, and traffic officers blocked off the streets surrounding the property. Several evidence markers were placed across the front lawn.

A revolver was recovered at the scene. 

One neighbor added that the area is usually a quiet neighborhood.

“It’s a great family-oriented area, so to hear something like that is shocking,” one man said.

The identity of the man who was killed had not been released at the time of this posting.

The Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) is leading the investigation, as required under a 2019 state law mandating oversight of any death that occurs during an interaction with law enforcement or while in custody. The law also requires that all such cases be presented to a grand jury to determine whether criminal charges are warranted.