Newark – Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II, announced today that the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Professional Standards Bureau is in the early stages of investigating a police-involved shooting in Newark that resulted in the death of Paul Braswell, 29, of Newark.
“Consistent with Attorney General guidelines, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office must investigate police-involved shootings in the county when there is a death or serious injury,’’ said Acting Prosecutor Stephens. “That investigation is underway.’’
The preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 3:39 pm yesterday a multi-agency task force was investigating gun offenses. Braswell and the surviving suspect were the focus of that investigation. Members of the task force attempted to make a traffic stop to arrest the two.
The incident escalated when the vehicle attempted to escape. While effecting the arrest, one or more officers fired their service weapons and the surviving suspect tried to flee the car.
He was immediately taken into custody according to police.
Authorities would not disclose if either Braswell or the other suspect had a firearm or what initially prompted shots fired.
Police say Braswell remained in the vehicle. For 45 minutes to an hour, law enforcement undertook efforts to get Braswell to exit the car voluntarily. There was no response from Braswell according to police.
Subsequently, a robot was deployed. Police say using the robot, officers obtained visual evidence that Braswell was either dead or unable to respond. Based on that, they opened the car and discovered that he was dead.
The suspects were in possession of three weapons which were recovered at the scene. Ballistic tests will determine which weapon caused Braswell’s death. At this time, the surviving suspect has not been charged. Police say he is hospitalized in stable condition.