AG’s office releases video footage from fatal police-involved shooting at Morris County motel on New Year’s Eve
PINE BROOK, NJ (Morris County) — The Attorney General’s Office Thursday released video from officers’ body-worn cameras related to a deadly police-involved shooting at a Pine Brook motel on Saturday, December 31, 2022.
James Allandale, 61, formerly known as James Allan, of Denville Township, sustained fatal injuries in the incident at the motel on Route 46 on New Year’s Eve, authorities said.
According to the preliminary information, members of the Morris County Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team (“SERT”) were at the motel to assist Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office detectives with taking Allandale into custody, based on an arrest warrant issued for Allandale charging him with attempted murder and other related charges in connection with an incident on Dec. 27, 2022 in Elmwood Park, authorities said.
Detectives ascertained that Allandale was inside a particular room and members of the Morris County SERT made entry at around 7:18 p.m., whereupon Allandale exchanged gunfire with Sgt. Fred Jackson of the Denville Police Department and Morristown Police Sgt. James Krauss, who are members of the Morris County SERT, authorities said.
A paramedic attached to the SERT was on scene to provide advanced life support, but Allandale was pronounced dead at around 7:27 p.m., authorities said.
Authorities recovered a firearm near Allandale. The two officers were transported to an area hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and were released., authorities said.
The shooting is 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 designed to promote the fair, impartial, and transparent investigation of fatal police encounters.
The view the recordings, click here.
The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.
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.
