A Weehawken police officer won’t face any charges after shooting a suspect who hit another cop with a stolen vehicle, a Hudson County grand jury decided.
Weehawken Police Sgt. Vincent Avoletta’s use of force was investigated by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office (HCPO) and supervised by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, the HCPO announced.
The investigation was presented to Hudson County residents serving on a county grand jury, in accordance with the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office’s 2019 Independent Prosecutor Directive (the “Directive”).
The investigation included interviews of witnesses, collection and review of video surveillance and body worn camera footage, physical evidence collected by the Hudson County Prosecutors Office’s Crime Scene Unit, photographs, and ballistics evidence that had been examined by personnel from the New Jersey State Police Firearms Unit.
This evidence, along with recorded interviews given by the two Weehawken police officers on scene at the time of the shooting— including the officer who fired his weapon—was presented to the grand jury.
After hearing testimony and reviewing the evidence, the grand jury concluded its deliberations with a vote to “no bill” criminal charges, meaning the grand jurors concluded no criminal charges should be filed against Avoletta.
According to the investigation, on August 1st, 2023, in Weehawken Township, two Weehawken police officers approached a suspected stolen vehicle (a Honda Civic) that backed into a residential driveway on Regency Boulevard.
As officers exited their unmarked police vehicle, the driver of the Honda Civic, later identified as Ricky Rivera, accelerated forward making contact with Avoletta’s partner.
During this time, Avoletta discharged his weapon, striking Rivera as he (Rivera) continued to drive onto Port Imperial Road.
Within minutes of fleeing the Regency Boulevard area, Rivera crashed into a Port Authority Police Department vehicle and became disabled on the side of the road.
Arriving officers provided medical aid to Rivera, who sustained a non-life threatening gunshot wound to his upper left arm.
A conflicts check was conducted pursuant to the directive and no actual or potential conflict of interest was found involving any individual assigned to the investigation.
Prior to presentation to the grand jury, the investigation was reviewed by Assistant Attorney General Nicholas Kormann, the director of investigations of fatal police encounters, in accordance with policies and procedures established for these presentations.
The matter was presented to the grand jury by Hudson County Assistant Prosecutors Karyn Darish and Daniel Gilbert.
At the conclusion of these investigations, pursuant to the Directive and SOPs, OPIA determines whether any principal should be referred to the appropriate law enforcement agency for administrative review in accordance with the Attorney General’s Internal Affairs Policy & Procedures.
OPIA monitors any resulting review and takes such actions as are necessary to ensure that the review is completed in a timely fashion, and that appropriate actions are taken based on the results of the review.