By: Richard L. Smith
The Attorney General’s Office today released body-worn and dashboard-camera footage as well as radio communications relating to the death of a Middlesex County man during a police encounter on the Garden State Parkway in Woodbridge.
Officials said the decedent has previously been identified as Kevin Harlfinger, 40, of Perth Amboy.
The fatal police-involved shooting is under investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA).
The recordings are being released pursuant to policies established by the Attorney General’s Office in 2019 to promote the fair, impartial, and transparent investigation of fatal police encounters.
Investigators provided representatives of Mr. Harlfinger’s family an opportunity to review the recordings prior to their public release.
According to the preliminary investigation, officers from the Cranford Police Department were pursuing a stolen vehicle when it crashed in the area of a southbound exit on the Garden State Parkway.
After the crash, the driver of the vehicle, Mr. Harlfinger, exchanged gunfire with Cranford Police Officers Christopher Folinusz and Ryan McSharry.
Mr. Harlfinger was pronounced deceased at the scene at approximately 12:04 a.m., December 29, 2023. A firearm was recovered near Mr. Harlfinger.
Officer Folinusz sustained a non-fatal gunshot wound, was treated at a hospital, and later released.
The recordings are available here: Click here to view the recordings
N.J.S.A. 52:17B-107(a)(2) requires the Attorney General’s Office to conduct investigations of deaths that occur during encounters 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.