*****PRESS RELEASE***** DATE: Jan. 20, 2015 CONTACTS: Chief Mark W. Ott Captain Michael A. Gaimari The Bridgeton Police Department has been served with an official Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request for video recordings from the police vehicles in-car dash cameras involving the recent officer-involved shooting. This event occurred on Henry St. between South Ave. and S. Pine St. in the City of Bridgeton on Dec. 30, 2014. The Bridgeton Police Department as a law enforcement agency does not, as a routine, consider the posting of any such video as compassionate or professional. In absence of the OPRA request this video would not be released to the public out of respect for the family of Jerame Reid, basic human dignity and to protect the constitutional rights of all those involved. This agency is obligated to comply with all the laws of the United States and the State of New Jersey and based on those laws we find that keeping this video from the public would be contrary to recent legal decisions concerning public records. It is with the following points in mind that this video is being made available to the South Jersey Times: 1. To comply with Federal and State laws pertaining to public records. 2. To provide the community with accurate and unedited information. The Bridgeton Police Department would like to caution viewers that this video depicts a rapidly evolving situation that ends tragically. Discretion should be used with respect to those viewing the video. Department administration would also urge the media that if it makes a conscious decision to release the video to the public, it be shown in its entirety including audio and video portions. Certain persons viewing this video may be alarmed at language used, however, note the language used at the beginning of the motor vehicle stop when the matter was simply a traffic violation, and that the language only changes when a gun becomes involved. It is also important to know that the Bridgeton Police Dept. policies and procedures regarding the use of force mirror that of the New Jersey Attorney General’s Guidelines on the use of force without deviation. nj.gov/oag/dcj/agguide/useofforce2001.pdf Since this remains a criminal investigation being conducted by the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office with assistance from the New Jersey State Police the administration of the Bridgeton Police Dept. will refrain from any further comment other than that it fully supports the officers involved as well as the legal process this incident is subject to.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 21:38:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015