AG’s office releases 911 call, video footage related to fatal police-involved shooting in Knowlton Township
KNOWLTON TOWNSHIP, NJ (Warren County) – The Attorney General’s Office Monday released a 911 call and video footage from two body worn cameras and two mobile video recorders in police vehicles related to a fatal police shooting that occurred in Knowlton Township.
According to the preliminary investigation, on November 7 New Jersey State Police Troopers Joselo Machuca and Eduardo Tejada responded to a motor vehicle incident on Starlite Hill Road in Knowlton Township, officials said.
Shortly after 1:30 a.m., Troopers Machuca and Tejada approached a vehicle that was stopped with the front end in a ditch. The vehicle was occupied by Timothy Parks, 34, of Saylorsburg, Pa and a dog. While the troopers were attempting to communicate with Parks, he fired a weapon from within the vehicle and shot the dog, officials said.
Troopers Machuca and Tejada then fired their weapons into the vehicle, fatally wounding Parks. Troopers and medical personnel rendered first aid to Parks, who was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Pennsylvania, where he was pronounced deceased shortly after 2:30 a.m., officials said.
To view the recordings, click here.
The fatal shooting remains under investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA). The recordings are being released pursuant to policies established by the Attorney General’s Office in 2019 that are designed to promote the fair, impartial, and transparent investigation of fatal police encounters. Investigators met Monday with Parks’ family to review the recordings.
This investigation is being conducted pursuant to a state law enacted in January 2019 (P.L. 2019, c.1), which requires that the Attorney General’s Office conduct all investigations of a person’s death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody. Separately, the Independent Prosecutor Directive, which was issued in December 2019, outlines a 10-step process for conducting these investigations. The Directive establishes clear procedures governing such investigations to ensure that they are conducted in a full, impartial and transparent manner. Under both state law and the Directive, when the entire investigation is complete, the case will be presented to a grand jury, typically consisting of 16 to 23 citizens, to make the ultimate decision regarding whether criminal charges will be filed.
