The Attorney General’s Office is investigating the death of a driver and a passenger of a motor vehicle who were fatally injured in a motor vehicle accident yesterday, May 10, after two Montclair police officers attempted to stop the car on Bloomfield Avenue.
Officials said the identities of the male decedents and a third injured individual are not being released at this time.
The accident occurred shortly after 4:30 a.m. on Bloomfield Avenue and Ridgewood Avenue in Glen Ridge.
Two police officers of the Montclair Township Police Department activated lights on their marked patrol vehicles in an attempt to stop the car.
The officers were in the process of attempting to stop a vehicle in connection with a criminal investigation.
The driver lost control of the vehicle, left the roadway, and struck a tree. Two individuals were pronounced deceased on the scene shortly after 9 a.m.
A third individual is being treated for injuries.
Former Attorney General Gurbir Grewal ordered the restriction on police pursuits in 2020 as part of a sweeping reform of the policies that govern when and how police can use force.
Grewal's policy allowed officers to pursue people suspected of 12 crimes, including murder, kidnapping, burglary, and escape.
At the beginning of May 2022, after listening to various township leaders, Acting Attorney General Matt Platkin reversed that decision, allowing police officers across the state to now pursue car thieves.
This investigation is being conducted pursuant to Attorney General Directive 2019-4, which implements the statutory requirement that the Attorney General’s Office conduct the investigation of any 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, and which establishes clear standards and procedures for conducting such investigations.
The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.