Newark Police Report One Fatal Shooting At Start Of New Year After Reportedly Having Zero Shootings In 2020
New Jersey’s Newark Police officials report they had zero police-involved shootings in 2020 and zero shots fired by any officer, however, they opened the New Year with one fatal shooting.
New Jersey news outlet News 12 shared the initial report that the Newark Police Department and city officials announced that the NPD officers didn’t fire a single shot at a suspect during the entire year of 2020 — all thanks to the de-escalation program implemented two years ago. The department reports that overall, crime was down 6% in 2020.
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However, as the department was celebrating a year of no shots fired, on New Year’s Day, authorities say a 39-year-old man was killed in gunfire just after midnight. Officers were responding to a report of shorts fired in the area and ran into a “running gunfight.” The incident ended with a man being killed and one officer taken to the hospital for treatment. A firearm was recovered and the Newark cop who fatally shot the 39-year-old has been placed on administrative leave with an investigation underway.
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