The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed that they are investigating an incident that occurred just off the campus of Newark’s NJIT that resulted in two officers temporarily relieved of duty on Monday afternoon.
Katherine Carter, spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office, would not immediately say what the incident involved but would only confirm that The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office has taken over the investigation.
According to preliminary reports, at approximately 2:10 p.m., officers stopped a juvenile who reportedly was on foot and began to run from officers.
Officers caught up with the suspect and engaged in a 'confrontation' that ended with one of the officers requiring medical assistance and the juvenile suffering unspecified injuries according to reports.
Essex County officials would not say what led up to the confrontation nor would they immediately confirm if the suspect had a weapon.
There would be no confirmation if officers used one of their weapons on the juvenile at this time.
According to a statement released by NJIT Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Golden, he described the entire incident as troubling and has asked The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office to look into the matter immediately:
**The is a statement released by Mr. Matthew Golden:**
” There was a concerning incident on Monday, August 26 involving a juvenile who was apprehended off campus by two of our university police officers.
The circumstances of this matter are troubling, and NJIT has launched an investigation that will include the involvement of an independent law enforcement agency.
While that investigation proceeds expeditiously, we are conducting a review of pursuit procedures and training and have placed both involved officers on administrative leave.
NJIT is part of a larger community, and our university’s partnership with the City of Newark and our shared community is critically important.
That relationship is strong thanks to mutual respect and proactive, positive engagement efforts, some of which are led by our Office of Public Safety. We will continue to work in partnership with the City and Newark's community members.
We will investigate this matter thoroughly and take all appropriate actions as soon as the investigation is complete”.
Mr. Golden would not release any further comment publicly.