A New Jersey cop was forced to shoot and kill a man who attacked him with a knife last month. Body camera footage of this officer-involved shooting can be seen above.
New Jersey Cop Shoots Knife-Wielding Man
According to a press release from the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, it all started when a group of Atlantic City police officers responded to a hit-and-run accident on the evening of June 22. While the officers conducted their investigation, they were approached by an uninvolved man later identified as 32-year-old Timothy Deal.
The body cam footage shows Deal walk up and say, “Yo, man,” to one of the officers.
Spotting a knife in Deal’s hand, the officer backs up and orders Deal to drop the knife. Deal instead charges forward and swings the knife. That’s when the officer discharges his duty gun seven times, causing Deal to drop to the ground.
“Shots fired! Shots fired! Male down,” another officer says.
When asked if he’s injured, the officer who pulled the trigger replies, “I might be stabbed, I’m not sure.”
After dropping his knife, Deal was eventually placed in handcuffs and taken to the AtlantiCare Medical Center City Campus Trauma Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The officer was taken to the same trauma center and treated for a stab wound to his torso, NJ.com reported. He has since been released.
Protests
A couple of days after the shooting, roughly 100 of Deal’s friends and family members gathered outside the Public Safety Building on Atlantic Avenue to protest the shooting and demand transparency from the department. The Press of Atlantic City says they held signs that read, “Justice For Time,” and “Stop Gun Violence.”
Now that the Atlantic City Police Department has released footage of the shooting, it’s clear it was justified.
“The death of Timothy Deal, while tragic, was in response to his unprovoked attack on a police officer with a knife,” said Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner. “The unfortunate circumstances, where unarmed individuals have been assaulted and in some instances killed, that have occurred throughout the United States should not be compared to this matter. Each incident has its own set of facts and must be investigated separately.
“We must not lose sight of the fact that a sworn police officer reported to the scene of an accident to protect the public, and was attacked for no apparent reason. The officer defended himself and protected the public from untold harm. This incident reminds us of how fragile life can be and we should all be thankful that no innocent bystanders were injured,” Tyner added.
Deal’s sister, Talia King, said the incident is completely out of character for him.
“He’s not that kind of person,” King stated. “He would not do that. That’s not his personality, it’s not his demeanor.”
A second body camera video of the incident can be seen below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tphB2S973Co
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