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N.J. police defend tactics, release video of fatal shootout

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Police investigate the scene of a shooting on Reed Street in Jersey City on Thursday July 16, 2009. (AP Photo)

By Michaelangelo Conte
Jersey Journal

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Devastated they lost one of their own and that four other police officers had been injured in the July 16 shootout on Reed Street with two suspected robbers, the last thing Jersey City police brass wanted to see on TV was an “expert” questioning their tactics.

But ABC-TV interviewed a police expert Wednesday night who suggested police could have waited out Hassian Hosendove and Amanda Anderson, the husband and wife team who had barricaded themselves inside a Reed Street apartment, after Hosendove had earlier unloaded several shotgun blasts on the street below.

Jersey City police later stormed the apartment. Jersey City Police Officer Marc DiNardo died from wounds he sustained in that assault.

Angry about the second-guessing, Jersey City police officials released a video showing a portion of the shootout yesterday and defended their tactics.

“When we were seeking to open up a line of communication, he (Hosendove) was looking to open up a line of fire,” said Police Chief Tom Comey. Deputy Chief Peter Nalbach made the call to invade the apartment.

“I made the decision to send them in and I don’t like the result, but it was the right decision at the time,” Nalbach said.

Hosendove and Anderson were killed in a barrage of bullets.

Nalbach criticized the ABC-TV broadcast, arguing the expert had made an assessment without knowing the facts. Nalbach said the department had planned to release the video next week but moved it up to counteract the television report and to show the danger Hosendove represented.

Hosendove and Anderson were wanted for a June 18 incident in which a man was shotwith a shotgun.

Police spotted the couple’s car parked near Reed Street on July 15 and set up a surveillance operation. Police were told the pair had been making sure to move the car on street sweeping days.

The CCTV video shows Anderson in a long black hooded robe as she moves the car. She then joins Hosendove on the sidewalk. He too is wearing a black robe and hood.

The pair cut across a vacant lot and onto Reed Street. The police spot them. Officer Marc Lavelle drives up Reed Street in an unmarked car, while Lt. Michael Kelly gets out and begins running toward the pair.

Hosendove spots the police vehicle, pulls out a shotgun from beneath his robe and opens fire. Kelly ducks behind a parked van and Hosendove fires three rounds at the car as he chases it up the block. Hosendove then runs to a nearby apartment building where Anderson is holding the door open for him and they disappear inside.

Numerous officers were called to the scene, including a hostage negotiator, and a perimeter was established. Ambulances and a helicopter also responded and police tried to evacuate the building, but a half-dozen people would not leave.

Nalbach said about an hour after the initial shooting police parked an armored car in front of the building as a last ditch effort to contact the gunman and evacuate the building. Comey said commands were issued through speakers that were so loud they shook the building’s windows.

After that, about 20 Emergency Services Unit officers entered the building and began going door-to-door to evacuate residents and locate and isolate Hosendove.

When they got to the third floor they knocked on an apartment and got no reply but heard music inside. When they forced the door, Hosendove opened fire with the shotgun from a few feet away.

Comey said the officers went in to protect the residents of the building and to isolate Hosendove in order to protect residents.

Asked if the tactic guaranteed a confrontation, Jersey City Police Inspector Paul Riepe said it did not.

“Hostage negotiation starts with locating the individual,” Riepe said. “We did not have an opportunity to set up a negotiation because he opened fire.”

Copyright 2009 Jersey Journal