The video of a fatal Police involved shooting of a Bridgeton Man that occurred on December 30th in the area of Henry Street and South Ave. has been released to the public. Jerame Reid was killed following a motor vehicle stop at the intersection of Henry Street and South Avenue in Bridgeton, at about 9:20 p.m., according to the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office.
The Bridgeton Police released this statement shortly before releasing this video to the public:
The Bridgeton Police Department has been served with an official Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request for video recordings from the police vehicles in-car dash cameras involving the recent officer-involved shooting. This event occurred on Henry St. between South Ave. and S. Pine St. in the City of Bridgeton on Dec. 30, 2014. The Bridgeton Police Department as a law enforcement agency does not, as a routine, consider the posting of any such video as compassionate or professional. In absence of the OPRA request this video would not be released to the public out of respect for the family of Jerame Reid, basic human dignity and to protect the constitutional rights of all those involved.
This agency is obligated to comply with all the laws of the United States and the State of New Jersey and based on those laws we find that keeping this video from the public would be contrary to recent legal decisions concerning public records.
Department administration would also urge the media that if it makes a conscious decision to release the video to the public, it be shown in its entirety including audio and video portions. Certain persons viewing this video may be alarmed at language used, however, note the language used at the beginning of the motor vehicle stop when the matter was simply a traffic violation, and that the language only changes when a gun becomes involved.
The video is graphic, discretion is advised.
The incident is under investigation