The Attorney General’s Office today released video footage from three body-worn cameras related to a fatal police-involved shooting that occurred on April 12, 2022, in Edison.
The decedent has been identified as Merrill Rambarose, 49, of Edison.
The officers who fired their service weapons at Mr. Rambarose have been identified as Officer Daniel Bradley and Officer Joseph Elqumos of the Edison Police Department.
The fatal shooting remains 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 that are designed to promote the fair, impartial, and transparent investigation of fatal police encounters.
Investigators met today with Mr. Rambarose’s family to review the recordings.
According to the preliminary investigation, uniformed officers of the Edison Police Department responded to a 911 call made shortly after 3:45 p.m. reporting a male threatening an individual with an axe on Judson Street in Edison.
When officers arrived, they attempted to speak to Mr. Rambarose on his balcony.
Mr. Rambarose then went inside his apartment and emerged moments later armed with a short-handled axe.
Officers ordered him to back up and drop the weapon. He did not comply with the officers’ commands and instead charged towards the officers with the axe in his hand.
At this time, Officers Elquomos and Bradley both fired their weapons, fatally wounding Mr. Rambarose.
An axe was recovered near Mr. Rambarose. Officers and emergency medical personnel rendered first aid to Mr. Rambarose, who was pronounced deceased on scene via telemetry at 4:41 p.m.
The recordings are posted online: Click here for recordings.
The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.
This investigation is being conducted pursuant to a state law enacted in January 2019 (P.L. 2019, c.1), which requires that the Attorney General’s Office conduct all 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.
Separately, the Independent Prosecutor Directive, which was issued in December 2019, outlines a 10-step process for conducting these investigations.
The Directive establishes clear procedures governing such investigations to ensure that they are conducted in a full, impartial and transparent manner.
Under both state law and the Directive, when the entire investigation is complete, the case will be presented to a grand jury, typically consisting of 16 to 23 citizens, to make the ultimate decision regarding whether criminal charges will be filed.