South Jersey rest station shooting involving state police and U.S. Marshals under investigation
Few details were provided, but the shooting happened “in the presence of law enforcement”
The New Jersey Attorney General’s office is investigating the shooting of a civilian “in the presence of law enforcement” at a rest station in Pedricktown, Salem County, on Tuesday.
A man was shot around 1:45 p.m. at the Clara Barton Service Area, located along the New Jersey Turnpike.
Members of the New Jersey State Police and the United States Marshals Service were involved, according to a brief statement.
No details were provided on who shot the man or what his current condition is.
A spokesperson for the attorney general declined to answer follow up questions.
The office’s Integrity Bureau is conducting reviewing the shooting, the statement said. Signed in 2019, a directive outlines the state’s process for investigating cases of “police use-of-force or in-custody death.”
According to the directive, independent investigators are required to conduct witness interviews, collect forensic evidence, and review any available video and audio recordings of use-of-force incidents.
In fatal incidents, the directive requires evidence be presented before a grand jury, which chooses whether to recommend criminal indictment.
That process played out in February when a grand jury recommended no indictment be filed against the Hillsborough police officer who fatally shot 43-year-old Patrick Chin in 2021 during a welfare check.
Several New Jersey grand jury investigations from 2021 and 2022 also ended without indictments.
In January, however, the directive led to a grand jury recommending the misconduct indictment of a Trenton police officer who pepper-sprayed Joseph Ahr Sr.
The 64-year old died of respiratory failure nearly three weeks after the 2020 incident, and the death was ruled a homicide.