Newark Honors Officers Involved In Ending Violent Car Jacking, Crime Spree
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- More than two dozen Newark police officers were honored Friday for their roles in putting an end to a violent crime spree by six suspects earlier this week.
As 1010 WINS' Rebecca Granet reported, Newark's chief of police read out the names of the 26 officers who helped in arresting the suspects on Tuesday.
"I can say nothing better than I salute you for what you do today. But again, more importantly, for what you do every single day that you put on that uniform and come to work," said the police chief.
Authorities said it all began with a carjacking around 9:10 a.m., then a shooting was reported near the area of the carjacking.
But the suspects didn't stop there. According to police, the men then robbed two people in an apartment nearby, where they shot a man and pistol whipped a woman.
Multiple units responded to the area and spotted the carjacked vehicle, a silver Jaguar, heading down South 19th Street. A police chase ensued until the Jaguar crashed into several parked cars, police said.
The suspects then fled on foot, splitting up, police said. Officers were able to nab four of the suspects near the crash seen, one of which died of injuries from the crash, police said.
Two other suspects barricaded themselves inside a nearby home, but the pair ultimately surrendered to authorities, police said.
Mayor Ras Baraka said the situation could have played out in a lot of different ways.
"Our men and women did an excellent job that day in making sure that that incident ended safely," the mayor said.
The mayor said the fact that the suspects were all between the ages of 14 and 17 years old shows a need for parents and the community to get more involved, WCBS 880's Levon Putney reported.
"Which means there's a lot of work that we have to do as parents, as a school system," Baraka said.
Each officer was honored with a proclamation.