Investigation Opened Into Cop Killed In Wrong-Way Newark Car Crash
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - A police chase over the weekend ended with the death of an innocent man in Newark, and now a state agency is looking into what happened.
New cell phone video given to CBS2 by neighbors shows the end result of a police pursuit that began a town over in Hillside and ended on Bragaw Avenue and Aldine Street in Newark, reports CBS2's Alice Gainer.
A man who did not want to show his face on camera heard the crash happen outside his window. Many neighbors say the loud crash woke them up.
Officials say a Hillside police officer was in pursuit of a Nissan Altima with three men inside. Just after 2:30 a.m. Saturday, the Altima struck a Ford Mustang, pushing it into a utility pole.
Victim Omar Martin, a correctional police officer at Newark's Northern State Prison, became trapped in his car and died.
Monday, a growing memorial drew remembrances to a man described by loved ones as outgoing and generous, a father to a son.
"It's still rough right now, but he's just, he loved life," said friend Carlton Easton. "It's hard to see anybody taken away, but especially a person that loved life the way he loved it."
At least half a dozen neighbors tell CBS2 the end of the chase took place going the opposite direction on the one-way street of Aldine.
"The guy was coming from Hillside this way, down this one-way doing like 90," said one witness, noting the vehicle was going the wrong way on the one-way street.
The New Jersey attorney general's Shooting Response Task Force is now investigating since law enforcement was involved.
Task Force would not comment on any more specifics of the case.
Hillside police referred us to the AG's office, as did the Essex County prosecutor's office.
According to police pursuit policy in New Jersey, officers are allowed to pursue into a different jurisdiction as long as they notify authorities there. They are supposed to terminate a pursuit if there is a clear and unreasonable danger to the police officer or the public.
Two of the suspects were taken to the hospital and another to the Hillside police station.
As for their identities and charges, those have not yet been released.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Officer Omar Martin from Northern State Prison. He was killed early this morning by a driver of a stolen vehicle involved in an active police chase. He was taken to soon and our blue family is devastated. pic.twitter.com/Vusk7Aqp8a
— New Jersey PBA Local 105 (@NJPBA_LOCAL_105) August 24, 2019
The correctional officers union tweeted that the suspects were in a stolen car.
— New Jersey PBA Local 105 (@NJPBA_LOCAL_105) August 24, 2019
A GoFundMe account has been set up in honor of Omar Martin. For more information, see GoFundMe.com.