The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) is probing an incident where a man died in the hospital after being restrained by Bayonne police officers.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
At 12:18 a.m this morning., after receiving a 911 call, police officers from the Bayonne Police Department were dispatched to an apartment building on Broadway, in the vicinity of Linnet Street, the AG’s office said in a statement.
The 911 caller reported hearing “a lot” of screaming coming from the apartment, and indicated it was concerning.
Responding officers approached the apartment described by the caller and heard yelling coming from inside. Officers encountered the man who had been yelling and requested medical assistance.
Police restrained the man for medical personnel to transport him to the Bayonne Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead at 8:44 a.m. The cause and manner of death are currently under investigation and his identity is not being released at this time.
A 2019 law requires the Attorney General’s Office to conduct investigations of a person’s death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody.
It requires that all such investigations be presented to a grand jury to determine if the evidence supports the return of an indictment against the officer or officers involved.
The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.
Since October 2022, the AG’s office has investigated three incidents in Bayonne: one where a driver died after lighting himself on fire, one where police fatally shot an emotionally disturbed man with a knife, and finally, one incident where there was a non-fatal shooting.
In all three instances, a state grand jury declined to charge any of the Bayonne police officers involved.
