Aug. 25 (ZFJ) — The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has revised its use-of-force policy to “increase the likelihood of peaceful resolutions to encounters between police and barricaded individuals,” Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said in a statement.
The change in policy, which had last been changed in December 2020, comes weeks after the July 28 shooting of Victoria Lee, who was killed while threatening cops during a “mental breakdown.
METUCHEN, N.J., Aug. 22 (ZFJ) — Walid Beshai, 36, of Bayonne, was arrested by Metuchen police at his residence on Wednesday, Aug. 14, in connection with a fire in the borough on June 27, 2024.
Patrol officers responded to the scene of a fire on June 27, 2024, at about 1:30 a.m., according to an affidavit of probable cause submitted to the court by police. Three residents were removed from a two-family residential structure, and a garage that contained one of the victim’s vehicles was actively on fire.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This news report contains graphic details of the police-involved shooting and vulgarities that could be offensive or disturbing to some readers.
Aug. 19 (ZFJ) — Body camera footage of the fatal shooting of Victoria G. Lee, 25, of Fort Lee, by Fort Lee Police Officer Tony Pickens, Jr., during a mental health call on July 28 was released by the N.J. Attorney General’s Office (OAG) on Friday, Aug.
July 30 (ZFJ) — A Fort Lee police officer responding to a mental health call fatally shot Victoria G. Lee, 26, of Fort Lee, on Sunday, July 28, according to the N.J. Attorney General’s Office (OAG).
OAG said in a press release that on Sunday, at about 1:25 a.m., Fort Lee police responded to “The Pinnacle” apartment complex on Main Street after receiving a 911 call from a man reporting that his sister was having a mental health crisis and needed to go to the hospital.
EDISON, N.J., July 30 (ZFJ) — One motorcyclist was killed and one motorcyclist was seriously injured in a crash at the intersection of Route 1 North and Old Post Road in Edison on Sunday, July 28.
On Sunday, at about 8:13 p.m., authorities responded to the intersection after receiving a report of a multi-vehicle crash, according to a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Police located Alexander Teshima Chong, 44, of Belleville, who had been operating a motorcycle at the time of the collision.
EDISON, N.J., July 26 (ZFJ) — Joan Franklin Polanco, 37, of Edison, has been charged in connection with the fatal stabbing that occurred in Edison on Sunday, July 21, 2024, announced Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Chief Thomas Bryan of the Edison Police Department.
On July 21, Edison police responded to a call for a welfare check of the victim, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit. Shortly after, at about 4:37 p.
July 9 (ZFJ) — Raymond Maldonado, 34, of Perth Amboy has been charged in connection with a June 30 homicide in Perth Amboy, announced authorities on July 1.
According to a criminal complaint, on June 30, at about 1:12 p.m., the Perth Amboy Police Department received a 911 call from a relative who said that she went to the victim’s home to check on her and found her unresponsive on the living room floor with bruising and blood around her face.
WOODBRIDGE, N.J., July 3 (ZFJ) — Two officers were shot and one suspect was killed at the Raritan Hotel on King Georges Post Road in the Fords section of Woodbridge on June 13, according to the N.J. Attorney General’s Office.
On June 12, Edison police officers using an automated license plate reader found that a vehicle sought by New York City authorities in connection with a shooting that left its victim with life-threatening injuries was in the area.
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., April 22 (ZFJ) — Jacob Beacher, 24, of North Plainfield, has been charged with a federal hate crime for breaking into the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers University (CILRU) on 122 College Avenue in New Brunswick, announced federal authorities on Monday, April 22.
Beacher, not affiliated with Rutgers, was arrested this morning and federally charged with one count of intentional or attempted obstruction of religious practice and one count of making false statements to federal authorities.
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., April 14 (ZFJ) — The Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers University (CILRU) was broken into and vandalized on Eid.
The Center reported on Instagram that art pieces with Quranic verses, windows, TVs, printers, artwork, and the Palestinian flag were damaged.
“This reprehensible act, occurring on our sacred day, is undoubtedly fueled by Islamophobia is clearly a hate crime targeting our Muslim population at Rutgers,” the Center wrote.
