NEWARK, N.J. — The state attorney general’s office says that a shootout on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey happened during a police chase involving a stolen car. The suspect was killed and an officer was hurt.
The accident happened near Exit 131 in Woodbridge just before midnight on Thursday. The driver of a stolen work van was being chased by police when he got out and started firing a gun, hitting a Cranford officer in the arm.
“The guy spun out, the Cranford officers pulled up, and the guy basically got out shooting,” said Pat Colligan, head of the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association, about the incident. The police fired back, and as we all know, the suspect died.
The hurt cop, whose name has not been released, was taken to University Hospital right away. Colligan said the officer was hurt all the way through, but luckily there were no broken bones. He also said the officer was released after being checked out by a doctor.
According to police sources, the chase began at the corner of Centennial and Grant in Cranford, close to a busy bar. The event is being looked into by the office of the New Jersey attorney general, who said that a gun was found near the dead suspect.
People in the neighborhood were worried about the risks police cops face. Eric Shea, who lives in Cranford, said, “The problem is that we live in a very dangerous time.” There is no such thing as a given.
In April 2022, the attorney general’s office changed the rules about police pursuits so they could happen in certain situations, like when someone breaks into a house or steals a car. This was done because of a rise in these types of crimes.
Mike Barry, a former sergeant from the Port Authority Police who now works for the National Police Defense Foundation, stressed how important it is to think about things like road conditions, time of day, and the number of people living in the area during pursuits.
The Cranford Police Department hasn’t said anything about what happened because the attorney general’s office is still looking into it. On social media, Governor Phil Murphy, who is out of state at the moment, showed his support for law enforcement by writing, “Our men and women in uniform put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe.” We are hoping that the officer gets better quickly.