The shooting of Barry "Gene" Deloatch occurred on the early morning of September 22, 2011 in
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Crowd Protests NJ Police Shooting , NBC New York /ref> The circumstances of his death generated significant controversy, leading to a series of high-profile resident protests and an investigation by the Middlesex County Prosecutor. In 2016, the city reached an agreement with the sons of Deloatch in the wrongful death civil suit they filed; the settlement was in the amount of $300,000.
Background
Deloatch worked at New Brunswick High School as security officer and maintenance staff. He was planning to marry his long-time girlfriend in January 2012. Deloatch was convicted of two drug offenses in New Brunswick in the past decade.
The incident
Officers approached Deloatch and two other men around 12:12 AM near the intersection of Throop Avenue and Handy Street.Friends, relatives of slain New Brunswick man protest, claiming wrongful death , NJ.com /ref> Deloatch fled into a nearby alley and two police officers followed. He fled by crawling under a fence, and Officer Mazan attempted to follow him through the fence while Officer Berdel attempted to go around a nearby house to approach from the other side. Officer Mazan became entrapped and unable to access his weapons. According to officers, Deloatch began to hit Officer Mazan in the head with a stick, and failed to follow Officer Berdel's orders to stop attacking the officer. He was shot twice in the side. /ref> Deloatch had no firearm, but after the incident occurred, radio recordings state "the suspect was attempting to hit us with a wooden stick". Deloatch was pronounced dead at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital at 12:37 AM.
The officers
According to court papers, Brad Berdel was the shooter, and his partner was Dan Mazan. /ref> The two were subject of nine internal affairs investigations over their careers, with allegations ranging from "demeanor complaints" to "excessive force", and one complaint of "differential treatment" came from a fellow police officer.Officers in Deloatch Shooting Both Were Subjects of Prior Internal Affairs Investigations - New Brunswick, NJ Patch The two of them were also involved in 10 use-of-force incidents in 2010 (above the department average of five), with 80 percent of them involving black or Latino men. Berdel was one of very few officers to have kicking, uses of chemical spray and use of hands or fists cited in complaints.
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
organizations such as the
National Action Network
The National Action Network (NAN) is a not-for-profit, civil rights organization founded by the Reverend Al Sharpton in New York City, New York, in early 1991. In a 2016 profile, '' Vanity Fair'' called Sharpton "arguably the country's most infl ...
and
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
. The
Latino Leadership Alliance
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
has requested to present the case before
grand jury
A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...
ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
to investigate.
Deloatch's funeral was held on October 8, and it was marked an additional "Day of Outrage" protest. On October 24, another major protest was held at Feaster park.