A Hudson County grand jury has concluded that a Bayonne police officer’s use-of-force was justified in a non-fatal shooting that took place back in July.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Kelvin Ortiz, 36, of Jersey City, was shot by a Bayonne Police Officer Rafael Ocasio outside of the Burger King – located at the intersection of West 53rd Street and Broadway – on July 13th, 2023.
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Shooting Response Team and Major Crimes Unit investigated the matter, Ortiz faced a slew of charges, and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office was notified in according with their guidelines.
This matter was investigated by the HCPO and 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 investigation included interviews of witnesses, photographs, body worn camera footage, physical evidence collected by the HCPO Crime Scene Unit, and ballistics evidence that was examined by personnel from the State Police Department’s Firearms Unit.
This evidence, along with recorded interviews given by the three Bayonne officers on scene at the time of the shooting and the officer who fired his weapon, was presented to the grand jury.
After hearing testimony and receiving this evidence, the grand jury concluded its deliberations one week ago (March 7th) and voted “no bill,” meaning the grand jurors concluded no criminal charges should be filed against Ocasio.
According to the investigation, on July 13, 2023, in the City of Bayonne, Bayonne police officers approached a vehicle in a parking lot located at 1088 Broadway.
The vehicle matched the description of a car that had driven away from a gas station on 53rd Street near Avenue E without paying for gas. During the interaction with police, the driver of the vehicle, Ortiz, reversed and backed into numerous police vehicles.
He then drove his car up on the side of the parking lot over the curb, making a U-turn and drove in the direction of Ocasio as he fled the parking lot, causing him to fire his service weapon six times.
Ortiz suffered non-life threatening gunshot injuries and was treated at a local hospital where he remained for two weeks before he was discharged. Ortiz was charged with eluding, four counts of aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
The grand jury was instructed on the elements of potential criminal offenses that could be brought, including aggravated assault and official misconduct, and, as required by statutes, the grand jury was further instructed on forms of legal justification including self-defense, defense of others, and use-of-force in law enforcement.
By concluding that the officer was legally justified in his use of deadly force, the grand jury decided not to lodge criminal charges against the officer.
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, Director of Investigations of Fatal Police Encounters, in accordance with policies and procedures established for these presentations.
Furthermore, the matter was presented to the grand jury by Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Karyn Darish.
