Suspect arrested, weapon recovered following incident involving an off-duty city detective.
An Elizabeth man is in custody following an incident in which an off-duty Elizabeth Police Department detective discharged his service weapon, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park announced Sunday.
Luis Orlando Ruiz-Chicaz, 21, is charged with aggravated assault by pointing a firearm and two related weapons offenses.
Police were called to a restaurant on the corner of 5th Street and Broadway in Elizabeth at approximately 8:30 p.m. Saturday to find the detective and Ruiz-Chicaz at the scene. The preliminary investigation revealed that during an interaction between the pair outside the restaurant wherein the detective realized that Ruiz-Chicaz was armed with a handgun, the detective discharged two rounds from his service weapon.
An investigation into the incident by the Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Unit remains ongoing.
No one was known to have been injured during the incident. The detective arrested Ruiz-Chicaz, after which a loaded revolver was recovered at the scene.
Anyone with information about this matter is being urged to contact Prosecutor’s Office Detective Christopher Scuorzo at 908-472-0492.